I addressed this briefly in my last post, but I wanted to take the time to reflect on the past month and a half of my life. As the title suggests, yes I was unemployed. And yes, it most definitely did suck.

Let me just tackle a few facts before we really get into it. I had a lot of people telling me to keep my chin up, that it would definitely get better, and that eventually I would get a job. While yes, I did eventually land a job, I had to absolutely grind to get to that point. I think that's the underrated aspect that most people don't really think about. Everyone is so focused on the aspect of losing a job, and how that must affect the mental health. But really, I don't think that's what really mad me feel worse about the whole situation. The fact was, I was laid off due to the times itself, it had nothing to do with anything that I. could have done differently. So people coming up to me and telling me that it wasn't my fault that this happened just seemed fairly tacit. 

The big reason why I was affected by being laid off was because I would have to go through the toils and struggles of recruiting all over again. I was frustrated and angry. A part of me couldn't believe that life had really decided to screw me over once again. It's easy when you're in this scenario to feel like a victim, to blame circumstances on your misfortune and retreat into yourself. A big part of me just wanted to leave everything behind and give myself the time to rest and recuperate from the trauma.  I wanted to do that, but I also had to be logical. If this scenario ever happens to you just take a couple of days, or maybe even a week, to recover from the situation. Yes it does suck, and you're allowed to feel bad about it. But after that, you need to bring every grit and determination you possibly posses into the game. That's what I had to do. You have to get back up, dust yourself off, and start the recruiting grind. Fix up your resume, and start practicing whatever skills are necessary.

That's exactly what I had to do. Although I complained about it every single chance I got, and I most definitely went through a few mental breakdowns, eventually I just grit my teeth and got to work. And eventually, it led to me getting a job. Had I taken longer than a week to recover from the trauma, I'm not sure if I would've been as successful during the recruiting season. 

So now I'm sitting here, finally getting the time to relax and enjoy myself to my heart's content. Once 'the fat lady sings' you can finally give yourself the break that you definitely deserve.

What am I going to do during this break you might be asking? Depending on when I start my new job, I think that I'm going to first spend a few necessary weeks relaxing with my family, after which I will try to travel for a little bit. Then it's time to fully immerse myself into the culture of my new job and get straight to work.

I want to leave you all with one final thought on this subject. If life really is like an oscillating wave, in which each of the highs are succeeded by a low, should I really be spending my time during the high dreading the low that's to come? That doesn't seem very healthy at all. If the low is indeed inevitable, which all comes from perspective mind you, I think it's my sworn duty to spend my time at the top completely enjoying it. I think I should spend this perfect period of my life relaxing and enjoying it to the absolute fullest. Indeed, in a very meta way, me writing this blog post is actually my way of coming to terms with this period of my life. And I intend to enjoy every single moment.

And lastly, for those of you who may be In the midst of their own lows, remember that the high Is just around the corner. It seemed so difficult for me to believe that when life sucked a month ago, but if it can work out for me then it can definitely work out for you. Keep your chin up ;)​

They say that your 20s is the time in your life to be testing things out and going out of your comfort zone. Now that always sounds well and fine usually, but I'm starting to realize that parts of that are just a big sham. What does does it mean to go out of your comfort zone? For me, that definition connects with spending some time traveling with no set schedule or plan in mind. It means completely leaving my comfortable surroundings, and steeping myself in the uncomfortable. It means sleepless nights, chilly nights, all in the search of a greater meaning for myself.

That all comes from the romanticized portion of my mind. Then the logical part steps in and squashes the dream like an ant under a boot. I can't do any of those things right away. There's the slight issue of my job search that I need to be focused on. As much as I want to just drop everything, the potential ramifications are too great for me to even consider it.

So what's left for me to focus on during this period? How can I really test things out, discover myself, and go out of my comfort zone. Well that's the difficult thing. As much as I try to find individuality during this period, more and more it seems like circumstances want me to just fit into the standard flow of society. What do you do after you graduate college? You start working. What do you do after your finish working? You die.

Now contrary to the anger that spurred me when I first started writing this post, I don't actually plan to spend most of this time venting. I was left with the question of how do I find individuality and, in the most grand of terms, myself. Especially with how my options seemed mostly limited, I was left fairly frustrated. But I think I've started to figure out a bit more about how that's supposed to happen. Yes, at this moment my only plan should be to start working, and get into that grind. But that doesn't mean that's all there is to life. I can figure out some time to plan that trip if that's what my heart really desires, either before I start working, or when I can take a vacation. It's very much possible. Additionally, just because I start working doesn't mean that everything else that could possibly be done in life is gone. Because, that's the fun thing about work, which is completely different from college and from recruiting. When I'm done with work for the day or the week, I am actually completely done. There's no need to keep working in the evenings or the weekend. I can spend that time doing what I love. And I guess that is an important question to address. What is it that I love? Well I like writing blog posts, as well as working on my countless stories. Apart from that, I like dancing. I've really been trying to improve my dancing recently. I can attend dance lessons more and more frequently.

So regardless of the fact that many of us in our 20s might feel that we're shoehorned into typical roles, it's our job to take the time that we're not working to make the most of. Instead of just sitting there on your phone binging meaningless videos, take that time to read that damn book that you keep saying you'll eventually get to. Make that delicious recipe you saved for a day when you "would have the time". There's no such thing as having the time, at the end of the day you make the time for the activities that you want to do. 

So hopefully this blog post is ending on a much more positive thought than it started. Yes, like everyone else in this chaotic world, I am also human. I am prone to frustrations and anger just like everyone else. But after you clear through those emotions, it's all about looking at things more rationally. If you can do that, I promise things won't look so hopeless. Hang in there everyone.

​- A

Hello. Before we get started with the short story, I just wanted to give say a few words and give some background. The prompt that I wanted to write today's short story on originated in an Instagram post that I can no longer find. The gist of what they said was to imagine a story of a time traveler, where they encounter an immortal person. And the growth of their relationship from acquaintances, to rivals, to who knows? I thought it would be such an interesting story, so I've been thinking about how to write it out. There are a few angles I could approach for it. First of all, from whose perspective could I write the story. On one hand, it might be more direct and easier to understand through the eyes of the immortal, as time is still linear for them and they encounter the time traveler at various points in their life, something still draws me to writing the story of the time traveler, who mets with the immortal at various times and sees the unchanging form. What starts off as irritation eventually turns into something more as they try to discover more about the person in front of them. So yah, that's the angle that I'll be writing from. IF you don't agree with me, please feel free to write your own story and dm it to me. I would be happy to read through any other interpretations of this idea.

Anyways, apart from that just wanted to wish you all a merry christmas. Regardless of the fact that I'm stuck inside my room, just like many of my peers around the world I am sure, I still think that we should all come together during this time and simply enjoy being alive and amongst our loved ones. It is a real treasure to be here, and I thank each and every one of you for reading my works and being her with me. But ok no more background, let's get started with the story

***

What's the first place you would ever go if the whole expanse of human history, nay the whole expanse of existing history was at your fingertips. Like a wet paintbrush dipped over a blank canvas, greedy to spread your influence over the unknowing world, where would you want to first spread your illustrations. Where would you want the world of stories to be replaced with the real thing. For me, the first place I wanted to go was ancient greece.

For years, I'd imagined sailing through the greek isles. staring awestruck at the bright tapestries and statues in Athens, exploring the nestled port of Piraeus, and simply taking in the wonders of the time. Ancient Greece was a time filled with so much culture, exploration, and developments. It could be credited with birthing the first ideas of democracy, cartography, medicine, even geometry.

For years, I'd been laughed at for my ideas. I'd been laughed at while at university for my bold ideas on a device that could enable the user to time travel. My colleagues in Jupyter Labs considered my designs crazy, and myself deranged. I was laughed out of every investor meeting I ever tried to partake in. But I didn't let that stop me. I spent years building my own machine. I worked for any of the parts that I could afford, the others, I simply stole from the right people. In their eyes it could be looked at as unethical, but I knew my work would change the world.

And 4 years later, at the age of 24, I my work was finally complete. The silver device was no bigger than a CD, a rounded silver disk with a screen to input some information that would be necessary to begin the jumps, the longitude and latitude (or estimated location if need be), followed by the exact year. They were all inputted into the set BC and AD format, where everything in the future simply being calculated as how many years off of the current year (2024).

With everything set, I readied myself for the first jump. I had already planned the type I would jump into 450 BC. I chose to jump into Ancient Greece during the Peloponessian war for a specific reason, I wasn't completely mad. With most of the city states caught up in the war, there were many ways to travel across the states without too many eyebrows being raised. All I had to do was wear some neutral clothing, then act like a trader of some sort.

As the minutes of my clock continued to tick forwards, I looked into the mirror to survey what I was wearing, I had combed back my dark hair, and warn the closest thing to an ancient greek chiton, a loose pair of shorts and a loose cotton shirt that I had left open slightly. It wasn't perfect, but would hopefully work until I found some actual greek clothes. My dark skin was hopefully in line with most of Greece, so I wouldn't be looked at too closely.

I hesitated again as I held onto the silver disk, then shook my head. If I didn't do this now, I would remain uncertain and just skip it. So without thinking another moment, I twisted the disk clockwise. Immediately I felt a sucking sound as I felt myself being pushed forwards.

Then suddenly, I felt the air dramatically change, from the stuffy feeling in my office to the fresh and clean smell of the sea. I looked around. I was standing in a courtyard, with huge columns all around me that supported a raised platform. There was a square hole in the middle that let me see the stars. There were so many out there, with hardly any light hiding it from the night sky. It was breathtaking, and for a moment I forgot where I was as I took it all in.

Then it all unpleasantly came back to me as I heard a shout. Instantly, the whole courtyard was filled with light. I could hear many voices around me, and unfortunately, due to the universal translator that everyone in the world had been administered with in my time, I knew exactly what they wanted with me.

Rough hands of guards wearing blue highlighted robes and armor, with huge helmets that almost completely blocked their faces, grabbed me and dragged me up the marble stairs towards the biggest looking structure in the immediate vicinity. I was dragged face to face with an important looking many with dark hair, and a huge bushy beard that looked like an animal eating his face. On his right stood a few people, who seemed significantly younger than him. There was a man with dark hair, who was jutting his chest out like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread (trust me sliced bananas are much better), followed by three girls with similarly colored dark hair, and a small toddler gripping the hand of the youngest girl. The younger two girls were staring at their father in apprehension, but what caught my eye was how intently the older girl was staring at me. That immediately got me sweating. If she saw me as an outsider, someone who looked different, what would they do to me. I had already heard about the horrible ways in which ancient greeks had been killed, I didn't want to join those impressive ranks. I opened up my mouth to talk my way out of this as I reached into my pocket to grab the silver disk and hopefully get the hell out of here, when a few things happened at once. One of the guards behind me swung his leg out, catching my leg and making me crash down in pain. At the same time, the eldest girl started saying something, but I was in so much pain that I couldn't even hear. Her dad frowned, almost as if he didn't approve of her idea, but she waved her hands back at him before he finally relented.

"Stand", he ordered to me, and I meekly stood up, my hand still in my pocket holding onto the silver disk like it was a life line, which to be honest it probably was.

"I am sorry-", I began. before the king cut me off.

"My daughter Diana", he indicated towards the oldest girl next to him, who nodded "has indicated that you are the very same many who saved her life from bandits a few years ago. As such, it would be highly disrespectful to the gods if we killed you, nor could you even be a spy. As such-" and his eyes glittered as he spoke, "you are free to go wherever you please in Thebes."

Well that answered the the question of where in gods green earth I could be. I bowed as low as I possibly could, unsure if they still really did that, before straightening up, "We'' I'll be on my way then." I said as I started heading back the way I came.

"Wait", I heard a voice behind me as my heart sank. This is where I would die.

Instead I saw the eldest girl facing me. She was wearing a loose white dress that slipped off of her shoulders, and twisted in various places as it went down her body. "To thank you properly, I would love to give you a tour of the island." she said, ever so calmly and softly as she turned to face her father, who gave her a nod of approval.

I huffed, but gave her a nod back. What was the worst that could happen.

As soon as we had left the main enclosure, and were walking near the courtyard where I'd first appeared, she twisted to look at me again, her eyebrows raised, "Have we met each other?"

I chuckled at that. "Probably not, I can't say I've been around too much."

"You have a weird way to talk", she whispered, looking straight at me. Almost as if she'd known me for so long.

I backed a way a little bit, quite unsure about this random greek princess I'd met like 5 seconds ago who was seemingly staring into my soul.

"I'm just a traveler", I said a bit too cautiously.

She cocked her head at me, "Where have you been?"

"Oh...uh...all sorts of places you probably have never hear-"

"Have you ever been to Egypt?", she interrupted me.

"Egypt....no I definitely haven't."

"Well then that's strange...", she stopped walking at that, "since I've been speaking that language since we left the great hall and you haven't even noticed as we kept talking."

I mentally cursed at the stupid universal translator that wouldn't even alert me when it switched languages. But I couldn't waver in my resolve. Wavering could mean my death.

I stuck to a neutral expression on my face, "How does a greek princess happen to know ancient Eg- err Egyptian?"

She had a stormy look on her face, "You should know..."

We stared at each other for a few more moments. Her expression was quite confusing to understand. But mostly I was looking at her eyes, a mix of gray and light blue. It held immeasurable knowledge in it, such that could only be accumulated in a lifetime. I was able to read something through her eyes, a look of wariness certainly, but also something else.

Recognition.

I didn’t know how or where she had recognized me, but I was certain that was the expression I noticed on her face. But I feigned ignorance as we walked to a huge balcony overlooking the beautiful city of Thebes. The Ancient Greek architecture was really remarkable to look at. Whenever people thought of that architecture, they always imagined bland white structures. That was so far from the truth. Ancient Greece was colorful, with brightly colored statues lining each end of the streets, and multicolored shacks decorating each area.

“It’s so…”

”Beautiful”, said Diana from next to me.

I couldn’t help but agree, and I sighed I contentment.

Suddenly, I remembered a line that Diana’s father the King had said to me earlier.

”Why did your father say that I saved your life many years ago?”

Diana didn’t look at me, and instead continued to gaze out at the city, “When I was younger, many many years ago, something happened to me. You just remind me of someone dear to me from back then.”

”Did you grow up here in Thebes?”, I asked her, my curiosity getting the better of my cautiousness.

”In a different Thebes…”, Diana said, almost wistfully.

Before I could ask her what she meant, I heard shouting in the distance underneath us.

Diana cursed, and pulled me back away from the balcony as arrows soared right above, past where my head had been a moment before, “Athenian soldiers! It’s a raid.”

This freaked me out, and I tumbled and fell to the floor as Diana started running back towards the castle, in the opposite directions from the guards, who were pulling out their bows to return fire.

I gasped and lurched away from the fighting. I was clearly in over my head.

I needed to get out of here.

I got up and started running to the far end of the grounds, away from prying eyes, “Traveler!”, I heard behind me.

I turned around and saw Diana above me, holding a bow in her hand. She looked at me for a moment, wildly heading away from the fighting, “You…You’re running away?”

Despite myself, I felt shame, “This isn’t my fight Diana, I’m sorry I have to go.”

Her faced hardened, “Then go…may the gods curse you for your cowardice Traveler.”

She turned and started running away, towards the shouts and screams.

For a moment I was frozen in shock. I wanted to join the fight so badly, but I also knew that I couldn’t interfere with the skirmish. Changing the past could lead to disastrous consequences, especially if I joined a fight like this. I wanted to minimally interfere with the environment, so I knew I had to get out of here right this way. But I didn’t feel right leaving that to be my last words to the Greek Princess.

“My name…is Magnus!”, I yelled at her retreating figure, although I couldn’t be sure she’d heard me.

I stood on the ledge at the far end of the castle, and started fidgeting with my time device as I calibrated it to take me home.

As I Was twisting the knobs, I felt the hair on the back of my neck suddenly stand up.

I heard the whistle first, before a massive explosion of fire blasted me from the ledge, straight towards the rocks below. As the rocks came up to meet me I desperately squeezed the device. At the last possible moment, as I could almost feel the rocks slicing into me, I felt a huge sucking sound as I was pulled back into the current of time.

Then before I could even process the change, I suddenly felt overwhelming suffocation, as dark water materialized around me, crushing me.

***

End of Part 1. I’m not gonna have too many parts with this story, maybe like one or two more, but I’d really like to see where I can go with this. Out of quarantine, and finally writing this on a beach. Life is good.

​- A

I happened across this post online. The actual post was for a poem that depicted an aged warrior, continuing to protect the people it cared about, as it had done for its entire life. And though its body may be useless now, it still continues its job. Sure, it's slightly silly, but the poem remains a very poignant reminder of the finality of all thing

And that poem reminded me of my favorite poem of all time. I'm sure many of you have heard of it. It's called Ozymandias, by a fella named Percy Jackson. Hehe, just kidding. Making sure you're properly reading. If you weren't confused there, look up the name Percy Jackson. By far my favorite YA book series. But that's a story for another time. 

The poem is by a man named Percy Shelley. If that last name seems familiar, it may because you know a person by the name of Mary Shelley, Percy's wife. Right crazy. For those of you who don't know who she is, she was the author of this small little monster book called FRANKENSTEIN. Crazy right. 

Anyways, Percy Shelley didn't write too many poems In his lifetime, he unfortunately died early, but this remains an amazing amazing poem.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

​The tragic irony that this poem focuses on is the story of King Ozymandias, a man who thought he had it all. At the height of his power, he built a grand statue to be made that would withstand the tests of time and signal the sheer power of this king for years to come. And where was it left now? In the middle of the desert, with nay but the legs of the statue still left. It was a very pitiful scene that reminded you of the passage of time, and how some things that may seem so important and crucial in the moment will simply fade away into the desert of time before long. 

I actually started writing this post on May 15, 2020. But I thought I would finish it up before I went to bed. I'll try to finish the first part (yes part 1) of the short story by tomorrow.

Peace - A

Alright...let's do this again. It's been a little over a year and eight months since I last wrote a blog post here. Now you all might be wondering why. Let me offer a few updates since I last posted on this blog. 

First of all, with my writing.  If you guys remember, last year I was primarily working on my novel. Although working on it was a little bit rich, since I hadn't really made any real additions to it in ages. I've had many stages of writer's block for a while, which has more than hampered my progress. But anyways with the big words. Since then, I've actually worked quite a bit on book 2 of the Stargazers series, or what was once book 2. Since then, I've started working on a prequel to the Stargazers series, something that will actually become my original Book 1. I took the idea of the prequel from The Witcher booker series. The way it went is that the first two books in the 7 book series were a series of short stories that introduced all of the characters and the setting. Following the introduction two books, the actual plot began in book 3. Similarly, I'm having boo k1 be the series of short stories that introduces the characters. Following that, book 2 begins the actual plot of the story, as seen in Stargazers: The Dark Void. Book 1 is gonna be called Stargazers: The Awakening. 

But apart from that, I actually had some writer's block with working on the Book 1 prequel story. As usual I have a hard time focusing on any one writing piece at a time. From there I began a new story.For those of you who haven't ever watched the romcom About Time, you definitely should. It's on Netflix, and it's actually such a heartwarming movie. But anyways, following that story  though there was so much more that could be explored with the story, so I've been working on a sequel story called Except Time. I won't go into too much here, but if you want to read it click this button.

But apart from differences in writing, a lot has happened in general in my life. Last May I graduated with my first degree. I'll be graduating this upcoming May with my Master's as well! I've gone through so much stress, exhaustion, trials, and tribulation. I've had one internship, and even accepted a job in San Francisco! So yeah, a lot has happened, so I hope you all understand why I haven't posted in a while. Recently, however, a lot of misfortune has befallen on me. I started a road trip with some of my friends from college, but that had to be cut short due to a COVID scare. 

Now here I am, five days later, stuck quarantined at home, positive with COVID. All of my friends went back as well. SO while I've been stuck at home, I've also had a lot of time to think. And whenever rI think, I want to start writing again. So here I am.  What can you all expect from me this time around? To be honest, probably not much, although I have a few short ideas that I want to write. Maybe some more of my thoughts centered around isolation and COVID. It's kinda sucked so far, although I hope things will be improving. We'll see what I post. I also want to get out Chapter 5 of Except Time soon so I should also get working on that.

But anyways, that's pretty much It for my update. I hope you all understand why I've been busy so far. I'll be working on the short story next! 

- A

P.S: That reminds me, last summer I was working In NYC. So many memories and pictures that I definitely need to talk about at some point.. I'm sure I will eventually :)

Seeing the marsh again reminded me of so many childhood memories. Swimming across it in terror to grab a piece of straw from the opposite bank. It was supposed to be a ritual by the cross country team. The smell of the marsh only lingered for a couple hours, but the memories of me sinking slowly into the thick silt, clambering through god knows what surrounded by god knows what stayed with me long after.

I remember walking across the mud with my grandma, me an overconfident tween getting his foot stuck in the mud and needing her to rescue me. Hours spent watching people go crabbing and having them explain to me the basics behind their traps. Watching the fireworks during the Fourth of July. Those 4 months where I was grounded and not allowed to play video games where I created a fort with my friends in the marshes. I walked by the area where my secret base was and just see a bunch of old reeds. But to my childhood mind those old reeds were the secret walls. That rotting driftwood my living room table. I walk through the marsh and it’s like all these childhood memories come back to me. It’s on one hand unsettling. Unsettling to remember the person I was, and think about how different of a person I am now. But that moment passes, and all I feel is nostalgia. Nostalgia for the way things were. A world without a pandemic. A world without responsibilities. A world that I had no understanding of, yet somehow could understood more. In some strange way I thank the current events for giving me the opportunity to walk through all of my old haunts. A chance for me to remember everything. Everything from before. A time long ago. 

I leave the marsh as the next generation comes through, screaming about wanting to jump into the water. I look at them, and see myself so many years ago. There’s so much I want to tell them. Enjoy what you have right now, before it feels like the world is trying to hurt you. Enjoy what you have. 

There’s so much I want to tell myself. So much I want to remind myself about before it happens. Enjoy what you have. But maybe...that’s just a part of life itself.  To look back at your life. Not in regret, but in celebration and remembrance of where you started, where you journeyed, and where you ended up. As the wind picks up and the chill sets in, I can't help but smile. Enjoying what I had back then, and what I have now. And with that I turn back, looking towards home.

So I leave the marsh.

​ I leave, but never forget.

​- A

What's there to say about Leipzig? Not much honestly. The city, is it really fair to call it a city, houses the church where Johann Sebastian Bach used to play the piano...

And that's pretty much it. Honestly, there's not much else to see in the city. And we only spent one day in the city. And that's how we ended off our journey through Germany.

From then on we were headed into a new country for me. One which I had no experience at all with. Like almost nothing. The Czech Republic. We came into Prague with slightly bad expectations. We were warned by our tour guide Tassos to watch out for pick pockets. Apparently, one year one of his students had put his bag down in the lobby. Some guy just walked in, picked up the bag, and just left. SO yeah, not the most safe city.

But honestly, the whole atmosphere fo the place, with it's winding cobble streets, and the different fancy stores, really did appeal to me. In the midst of the central square, there was this clock tower. And there we were, all standing under it, waiting for something to happen when the hour went by.

And at 1:00 exactly the entire machine began to whir. Little men came out of the clock, the music started to swell... and absolutely nothing happened. They waved their hands for a good minute, and then left.

But some other nice sites from the city included the Charles Bridge. You know, the iconic one where every person ever comes to take a picture? Yeah that one. We also checked out Prague Castle, which had St. Vitus's Cathedral and St. George's Basilica, which were gothic and romanesque respectively. They also had this whole market place which was a recreation of how the castle looked in medieval times. Honestly quite beautiful. The torture chambers were not fun though. Sad to think how creative human beings got when trying to figure out how to hurt others. 

But the weapons did look super cool.

Coolest thing was the rifle knife, hands down.

But yeah, the only other cool site in the city was the John Lennon wall. Man that was cool. Created as a memorial to the man himself, in front of the wall were numerous cans of spray paint which one, after paying a small fee, could use to make their mark on the wall. With a plethora of  different colors, the wall really was beautiful, in an almost chaotic sense. So many different streams on consciousness and color coming into contact. Reminds me of society itself...

But yeah, I just have one last story to leave you with from Prague. Take it as you will. SO here we were wandering through the city trying to find a good place for lunch. When suddenly on our left came this disheveled man. He looked to be on some sort of drug because he started to yell at us. We quickly started to walk away from him, but when we turned around he was still following us. We hurried along the twists and turns of the city and saw that he was still trailing behind. When we all suddenly stopped and started to glare at him, however, he finally got the message and took a hike, muttering to himself. So yeah, if Berlin was the City of Change, Prague would definitely be the City of Thieves.

​Peace!

I really feel like it's best to look at these three days combined. So I woke up fairly early, around 7 am so I could get breakfast before my classes. My breakfast consisted of a couple yummy wursts, or sausages in German, some scrambled eggs, which I have no clue what to say in German, some grilled tomatoes, and a loaf of bread. Classy isn't it? I definitely thought so. And after that I had a little bit of time before the classes started for the day. At least the classes weren't as long as it was last week, where each class was around 3 hours long, but it was still around an hour and a half. But I definitely did learn a lot about the different music and artworks we would be learning about in Berlin. 

After that I quickly got changed, and then met up with the guys. I needed to get dressed into slightly more formal clothing for an event that happened later that night which I will explain about later. But anyways, yeah the bois and I headed out towards our first stop, the museum Gamaldegalerie. There were so many beautiful paintings and it was honestly slightly overwhelming. Some of the amazing paintings I saw included The Draftsman by Chardin, a bunch of paintings by Caravaggio, and other truly beautiful works of art. It was really really awesome. After that museum we went to the music museum, and 15 minutes later exited the music museum. I was very surprised, we briefly looked over the instruments, and then our professor dipped. But whatever, we headed out and spent a while touring the area around the museums. Everything was so beautiful, but of course when I saw an Indian restaurant, I knew I had to eat there. Although the food was slightly expensive, I got butter chicken and naan, which I absolutely don't regret at all. Especially the naan, it was quite possibly the best naan I've ever head. 

But anyways, after lunch, we headed back to the same area as before, but this time for something different. We were going to see the Berlin Philharmonic. It was definitely a classy affair, and exactly what I imagined fancy Europeans went to. Like it was all suits and ties up in here. When the orchestra began, I thought I knew what to expect. But it was definitely not at all what I had thought. Each of the individual parts of the orchestra all combined for a fitting musical melting pot. It was amazing. After the orchestra we headed back to the hotel and I slept pretty early, it had been a very busy day.

The next day was even busier, something which I thought wasn't even possible. We headed to the Pergamon museum early in the morning. Unlike the art museum though, this museum seemed to contain much more pre-renaissance artifacts, which definitely happen to be my favorite. I saw greek and roman artifacts, you know, the standard European stuff. Nothing that hasn't been seen before. Then the Babylonian wing came into play, again nothing I really hadn't seem before. However, the ancient artifacts were very cool to see. However, once I got to the Scandinavian portion, I was smitten. There was this extremely well detailed horn, that almost seemed like it was telling a story. It's not really something I can explain very well, it's something you need to see to understand. And then when I saw the Persian carpets, I was astounded by the level of detail. But the final WOW moment for me had to be when I saw the Chinese art. It's crazy how many different cultural artifacts were all in one small museum. But anyways, after the museum we ate lunch, and then headed out to Sansoucci Palace. The palace, meaning without concerns, was meant to be the vacation home of Frederick the Great. These architecture in this building is something that I'm gonna extensively feature in my gallery, but I just need you to know how perfect palace was, just like Versaille.

The grounds were amazing too. But with that, and an evening of wonderful german cuisine in this authentic place filled with the rumble of the metro, I said goodbye to Berlin and headed deeper into Germany. Peace!

So there I was, sitting on the plane. It was around 4 hours into the trip. I looked around the small, cramped compartment. Next to me was the German man, who's name I had yet to figure out, although he did resemble Bill Nighy. So we'll just call him Bill.

But yeah, the low hum of the plane was strangely Cathartic, and with nothing much to do, and my eyes already feeling heavy, I shut my eyes and let the mild drone of the plane send sleep my way.

As I was leaving the plane, I looked at the small piece of candy that reminded me of home. With a small smile I popped it into my mouth, and then headed out of the plane, double checking to make sure I hadn't left my passport behind. I came out of the gate and quickly got my passport stamped, and then started to look for Winston, my friend who was on the same flight. It took me a while, but I finally found, first my bag, which was on the baggage train right in front of the gate, and then Winston. We came and sat at the coffee shop, and really didn't do much of anything, although I can say that the German croissant was amazing. 

Fast forward 2 hours and finally the rest of the group has arrived. I also met our tour guide, whose name is Tasso. His background is quite interesting. Although he is greek, he also speaks German, Italian, and French. So he's definitely a perfect guide as we venture through Europe. But yeah, more about Berlin. So we took the bus to the hotel, and wow it was so beautiful. Apparently it's the second tallest building in Berlin, but I really loved the area around it. Essentially the area used to be the heart of West Berlin, filled with plenty of coffee shops and restaurants. So since we had a few minutes until our rooms were ready, naturally we decided to go exploring to find a restaurant. I guess the area near our resturant was very touristy, but we couldn't find a German place to save our lives. So many American, Italian, and surprisingly Chinese restaurants. But eventually, we found a really nice place. With the clock running until we had to head back, we quickly ordered. I got something called Weigwurster, which translates to roughly white sausage. And it was really really good.

Definitely worth it. But yeah after that we moved in, and then we met the rest of the group to tour the city. In roughly 3 hours, we traveled around 10,000 steps, and saw the Holocaust Memorial, the Brandenburg Gate, and some random churches. But it was so beautiful, and it felt amazing to walk so much. When we got back we were treated to dinner at the hotel, and after that we again headed out to walk. One thing I was surprised by was how different the atmosphere changed from afternoon to evening.  It went from relaxed to electrically charged. Very cool. Also by the way, I'll be posting all of these pictures in the My Travels section tomorrow, and I'll probably add them into the post later too. 

But yeah, and then here comes my favorite part of the day. So after we came back, as I was really tired, I took some sort of weird dysfunctional nap. But after I woke up I met up with my friend Konstantin.  A bit of a backstory, I actually met him when I was volunteering in Nepal, and we became fast friends. So it was amazing to meet him again. He took me to this very local German rooftop club, and we just relaxed looking out at the view. What a night to remember. But yeah I think I'm gonna end this post with that idea in mind. Two old friends talking to each other after several years, unmoored in the sky, as an entire metropolitan city moves beneath them. What a first day. Peace!