Meeting People

Just as a side note- this cruise only holds about 150 people, so you begin to recognize everyone and even know a lot of people's names. Yes, it's full of all old people, but evidently, COOL people. The ship is currently hosting Japanese royalty, the governor of Georgia, a British intelligence/counter terrorism guy, ex-Australian mafia man, a guy really high up in Proctor & Gamble, and the director and producer of NCIS, Battlestar Gallactica, and more. Crazy. And it's fun to realize who they are after you've spoken to them. A definite interesting crowd we've got here.

Barcelona

BARCELONA

Architecture, artsy structures, beaches, wowww. Went on a Gaudí tour

of the city and got to see what kind of work he accomplish

ed. In case you don’t know, he’s a famous Spanish architect and designer. He turned traditional into funky and eventually, acceptable. He lived in poverty but designed homes for the richest---turning a traditional (giant) home into a piece of art. With tiles of light blue, gradually turning into darker hues of blue as you went up each floor. The roof of

the house was breathtaking. Not only did you get a nice view of Barcelona, but you got to see his signature mosaic artwork and the detail of even the top of the roof.

We also toured the Gaudí park featuring the world’s longest bench. It curved “like the waves” in order to receive the maximum amount of people. He was clearly inspired by nature, as he modeled a lot of his work after the waves in the ocean. We also got to see his famous mosaic lizard.

Walking down the famous street La Rambla, we encountered tons of people, shops, bars, and just some great people watching. Later that night, we ate dinner at a restaurant called Agua. At 10pm we began, finishing dinner at 1am. Like a true European. The dinner was great, we had tapas and paella and all that Spanish jazz. The restaurant was super modern and situated right on the boardwalk on the beach. I loved the atmosphere and I’d highly recommend the restaurant.

Next, my brothers and I and our friends from the ship went for a night on the town on a Saturday night in Barcelona. We stuck near the beach which was packed with people at 1:30am-4am and there was a steady flow of people through the boardwalk. The bars and clubs were alive and bumping with music—all kinds of young people were out and raging. There was a techno fest going on with Paul Van Dyk and Groove Armada, but we would have to wait til like 5am to get in and probably pay 60 euros. No bueno. Anyway, Barcelona was a fun place to visit but I don’t think I am a big crowded city girl. My favorite so far has been Palma de Mallorca. Now on to Francia….

Palma de Mallorca

Palma de Mallorca

I know I keep using the word “beautiful,” but there is no other word for the island of Palma de Mallorca. With hills, castles, cathedrals, beaches, tapa bars, and bike trails, Palma (as they call it), offers a lot. We started the day out with a bike ride all over the island, passing beaches, marinas, bars, castles, cathedrals…you name it. It was so scenic and a much better way to tour the city. Of course when we needed to rest, we stopped at a café and ordered some Coca Light, European-style. I love the laid back feeling of the whole continent of Europe. Everyone seems to take the expression “carpe diem” very seriously.

Later in the day we went back out to do some shopping. Palma is very cosmopolitan, so they have a whole street lined with upscale stores, even Hugo Boss and Carolina Herrera. Others you wouldn’t recognize the names, but you could tell it was nice stuff. Then we toured through the more narrow, more ancient part of the city where we found some Mallorcan specialties—olive oil, blown glass, and of course pearls.

Something interesting I learned is that they speak Catalán, not traditional Spanish. It’s not just a stem of the Spanish language, but a whole different language. It’s compared to the difference in Spanish and Portuguese—a HUGE difference. I couldn’t understand the locals and I forgot that there are 4(?) different idioms in the country of Spain. Crazy. Anyway, definitely coming back and spending a week in Palma. I highly recommend this place. P.S. Michelle Obama is actually here today---I failed and was never able to find her L

Cadiz & Malaga

CADIZ

Cádiz is a beautiful town on the coast of Spain, with narrow and winding cobblestoned streets. The shops reminded me of when I lived in Salamanca, Spain 4 summers ago. We passed by cafes filled with people at around 5pm simply enjoying their churros and chocolate. Another reminder of the relaxed and slowed-down version of what they call life. And I applaud them for it. In Cádiz we went to see a small flamenco show and I was really impressed with their skill—not to mention their rhythm. (VIDEO will come later)

We just toured around and walked up the tower in the main square and got a scenic view of the city and the ocean. Pretty place and it felt great to be back in a small town of Spain.

Málaga

Another pretty city, but with much more hills. Apartments were stacked on top of eachother on the hills in an almost Grecian-looking setting. We drove an hour east to a beach town called Verja to kayak around the cliffs. The water was a magnificent teal and slowly became clearer as the sun peaked out. The cliffs seemed to reach the clouds, and we even kayaked next to a 120 foot waterfall. The beach was hardly impressive, with no sand, but rocks. The rocks were intriguing though, looked like smooth rocks you would purchase at a store to accompany a bouquet of roses in a nice vase. The beach was taken over by umbrellas and people by noon and the cafes, restaurants, and little helado stands were in full swing. Verja was very quaint and relaxing and I preferred to stay there all day instead of the actual city of Málaga.

First stop: Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Beautiful architecture, wonderful tile, cobblestoned streets, street cafes, and the most breathtaking views packed into one city I’ve ever seen. Wow. It’s strange to me that I haven’t hear all that much about Portugal, or that Portugal is a highly touristic place.

First of all, it has a lot of similarities to San Francisco, California, but of course came first so we can assume SF was modeled after stunning Lisbon, Portugal. Cable cars, tall buildings in the downtown area, and even a golden gate bridge. Although, the golden gate bridge came after San Francisco’s. Apparently the president or prime minister of Portugal (not sure which one) wanted a bridge like the golden gate bridge, so the engineer built an exact replica of it in Lisbon. I was shocked and confused when I saw it in Lisbon..did anyone know that?? So, once we embarked our cruise ship we drove right under it. (pictures to come)

Be warned: if you aren’t particularly “in shape” perse, you might want to take the funicular or one of the trolleys. Lisbon is named “the city of 7 hills”, so if that doesn’t give you a nice visual of what the city walking is like. The cobblestone roads are extremely narrow, and of course in Europe, the drivers are somewhat immune to pedestrians and appear to not have a care in the world about hitting one of them. The occasional slap of the taxi by an angry pedestrian is nothing out-of-the-ordinary here.

Also, Portuguese has been a major barrier for my family and me. It’s easy to read Portuguese and understand it because of its similarity to Spanish. But when it came time to order my smoothie in a café, we weren’t going anywhere. It’s like a mix of Spanish and French but all blurred together with a Russian-like accent. It’s difficult to understand, so be sure to read up on your Portuguese.

Be sure to eat: Typical Portuguese food. We ate at Faia, a white table clothed restaurant nestled on top of one of the 7 hills complete with the traditional fadó music (pronounced fa-du). Portuguese people love their olives, they come before each meal. Fish is a specialty in the area not only because of the close proximity to the ocean, but also because of their “salted” style they cook the fish. I ordered the stone bass and it was hardly cooked, just fell apart and melted in my mouth. For the more daring eaters, there was a plate of full little fish served on a platter with oil and some veggies. Not for me! Nope, no thanks. Fadó is the style of music Portugal is famous for. It includes a style of classic guitar and singing. It’s acoustic and pretty Latin sounds..is how I would describe it. Faia was filled with locals. We knew this because everyone was singing along to the songs the Fadó band was playing. A definite go.

Wear: Doesn’t matter. Everyone is laid back here and they are used to tourists. You can wear shorts in the cathedrals.

Buy: TILE! It’s beautiful and it’s everywhere in the city.

Stay: Hotel Sofitel. It was luxurious and it reminded me of the Lumen in Dallas, Texas. The beds were the comfiest things I’ve ever laid in. Plus, the bell boy has a full on suit with a top hat, what more could you ask for? (joke)

CRUISE

You know when you sit there and just think, “what if I had this here” or “what if this car did this”? That kind of thing? Well, after boarding our Silverseas cruise ship, I sat out on the balcony and thought…there is nothing I can think of that would make this cruise cooler. With a glass of champagne in hand (and a bottle that was waiting for me in my room), a butler that is reachable at one touch of a button, perfect weather, free everything (well, free for me. Not for my father), etc etc. My point is not to brag, but to say that I’m extremely thankful that my family and I are on this cruise ship. Which is made up of all old people, which is fine with me since I’m on this vacation to RELAX! Speaking of which, tomorrow is a day at sea so I will begin my relaxing now.

Still Life

What does it take to be a good writer? After reading Still Life by Skip Hollandsworth in the May 2009 edition of Texas Monthly, not only are my eyes filled with tears, but I am inspired to write good stories. What does it take to move an audience after reading a feature story? I think it takes several things.

Personality. In order to get to know the people you are writing about, you must prove yourself personable. I think it'd be amazing to sit down with interesting people and hear their complete life stories. To really paint a true picture of the family in "Still Life", Skip must have spent hours upon hours with the family. A touchy subject, yes. But when dealing with such a bittersweet story, I'm sure the brother Henry was thankful to see the good side of journalism. To show the rest of the world that this man, John McClamrock, and his mother will always be remembered for their perseverance.

Originality. The story wouldn't be compelling and I wouldn't have just read through 5 pages of a feature story if it wasn't original and creative. What Skip does is transforms a "small story" in the newspapers from 30+ years ago into a lifelong story that touches the hearts of any and every human being that reads it. He allows the readers to truly get to know John and the mother. Dealing with heartbreak after heartbreak, he pulls through time after time. And we fall in love with these characters, per se, and he even places an underlying moral in there. What I got from the story? Keep fighting, never give up. Your family loves you more than you know. Keep a positive attitude no matter the circumstances. Love one another as if there's no tomorrow. The list goes on...

Empathy. If you didn't have this, you wouldn't be able to write such a passionate story. This story deals with death, cancer, family, and other topics that wouldn't be reachable if you couldn't even relate to the people you are talking to. To write such an explicit story about someone's life, you wouldn't really be able to dig very deep if you just nodded your head and kept writing in your little journalism notebook. It takes a conversation. Tears probably. Heck, I felt like I was a part of the family after I just read the story. I can't imagine what it was like learning all the small details about the McClamrock family and compiling everything into a beautiful narrative.

So...I applaud Skip for this story and I applaud Henry McClamrock who probably offered a lot of the details. Skip proves that just one story about a paralyzed child can still be a "sensation" over 30 years later.

John McClamrock

Turning 21

Wow. Quite a celebration...that will not end until the end of the week. I'm not complaining!

Turning 21 in the U.S. is HUGE. You're finally legal to drink and be treated like a normal adult U.S. citizen. No more "trying" to order drinks, let's skip all of that awkwardness.

So, naturally, on your 21st birthday, everyone's goal is to get you as intoxicated as possible. My awesome friends walked into my apartment with a bottle of champagne in hand, cupcakes, flowers, gifts..I feel so special! My wonderful boyfriend took me to a really nice restaurant, my friends decorated my place with balloons. I really wasn't expecting all of that, and I can't tell you how blessed I feel.

After pre-partying at my place for a while (until midnight, when I'm actually legal) we piled into a cab and searched for any bars or clubs that weren't dead on a Tuesday night. That was impossible. We made our own party and continued to drink and chat and dance, etc.

The party continues...our big party at Mizu is on Saturday night and we're expecting over 40 people. Should be amazing!!

Ya Betta Belize It

(photo credit: Laura Wolfe)

Upon arriving to San Pedro, Belize, we were escorted to a private ferry from Matachica Resort and transported to the island of Ambergris Caye. When we stepped on the ferry we were asked whether we preferred wine, beer, champagne, or a mixed drink. The 4 of us (me, Ryan, and his parents) immediately said "champagne" in unison. As soon as we stepped into Matachica Hotel, we were handed our glasses of champagne. The water was a beautiful crystal clear aquamarine. It was a scene out of Couples Retreat. (see above photo). Belize was nothing I expected, and in the best way possible. English is the primary language there, but some speak a English dialect called Creole, and there's some Spanish there. The country was extremely colorful for its size. Lots of African American people, some Asian influence, lots of reggae, and quite a bit of conch dishes. The main town on the coast (San Pedro) was bustling with golf carts and locals trying to make a buck with their jewelry-selling, or just living a laid back life while looking out at the beautiful ocean.

The Blue Hole was something to experience, we'll say. Hitting the #9 best diving spot in the entire world, this diving spot contained the largest fish in the Caribbean sea and was inhabited

.

by sharks. Although it appears there is land outlining the hole, it's just the reef and the sandy ledges. On the inside of the Blue Hole, there are layers of 8-10 ft sharks and at 140 ft, we were able to see the stalactite formations. It looked like a reflection from a ceiling, but that could have been the nitrogen narcosis. One thing I will say is it's definitely not a Blue Hole. It's a black hole, and I wouldn't recommend it for beginner divers.

We ate delicious food at Matachica Resort and at a place called Red Ginger in San Pedro.

I have videos that I will post later.

Blogging in LA 5/15/10

Little kids. What is with little children and there constant need to make unnecessary noises? While waiting to board my plane at LAX, 3 young children surrounded me. What sounded to be a horribly tuned choir, there were 3 kids “humming.” My mother informed me this is their way of entertaining themselves. Children are such a strange species. I mean, what if we all just busted out singing in the airport? What kind of world would we be living in? A really, really annoying one. Anyway, I feel there’d be a more efficient way of entertaining oneself. Take listening to music for one. Read a book maybe? Oh wait, they’re like 3 year old. I’ve made my point.

The Hills. Something about girls bitching at each other and sisters and brothers hating each other sucks you in. And it doesn’t really leave a happy feeling inside for either party. What is it with fake celebrities like Heidi Montag? Not to mention her psycho husband, Spencer. She lives a life of glamour and well…plastic glee. In a recent episode, Heidi flies to Colorado to visit her mother for the first time after her 34,678 plastic surgeries she received in one day. Her mother was evidently upset (no, really?) and Heidi expected her to greet her with open arms. So guess what we got? We got a really dramatic and entertaining episode of The Hills. I think it’s a bit much to go through a bunch of surgeries like she did and not even mention it to her own mother. On top of that, to expect her mother to be pleased with her MJ-esque transformation.

Sisters. Can’t do with ‘em, can’t do without. No, but really. A partner to keep you entertained mid flight via trivia games on the iPhone, as well as someone to shop with. A sister is someone you can make fun of and still be really close to! A novel idea. After a weekend trip to Los Angeles with the family, it’s only natural to do the same things as your sister. You can either take naps and be boring (mom and dad), sit around drink beer and talk about music (brothers), or go get Pinkberry, shop around and be given a full-on explanation of everything that Mac Paint Pots can do for you. Thanks, Maddy. I’ve been enlightened.

Countries. One thing I’d love to do in this lifetime is visit as many countries as physically and financially possible. Also, to learn as many languages as possible. I was recently asked if I considered myself a linguist. I thought to myself (after I chuckled) and said, “you know, YEAH.” Even though I’m not, that would be really cool to know lots of languages. Language. I see it as a secret code of extremely different cultures and exciting places. Anyway, back to countries—I played some trivia games that involved thinking of every country in the world. We came up with 75 out of 190. So, go me? I’ve got to get on top of that. GrrrrAAAUUU. P.S. There IS a country named Djibouti. You’re welcome.

Los Angeles

So, here I am at the Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, which is pretty much Los Angeles. 6 hours of flight time and quite a bit of stress later, we arrived and headed straight to the USC Kappa Sig house. We had drinks and had dinner and listened to each of the seniors make a toast. It was bitter sweet and it made me realize I need to really and truly enjoy every minute of college I have, because it's already half over. That hurts to say.

Graduation. So my older brother Matt graduated and received his Bachelor of Science Degree for Music Industry. There were about 45 other undergrads receiving the same degree and there was a lot of excitement in the air. Graduation is such a big deal. Family and friends fly in from all over the world. It's an exciting step in a person's life. The completion of 4 years in higher education. I don't know where I'm going with this. But congrats, Matthew!

Weather. It's absolutely perfect here. Sunny and low 70s. I hear it's not so perfect elsewhere....summer starting out with rain and temperatures in the 50s over in Oklahoma? Sucks.

This Summer. I will be visiting quite a few countries this summer, so I will be posting about each place I visit. First, I will be headed to my favorite place: Akumal, Mexico. Where I can pack all of my worries and stress in a box and leave it at home. Upon arriving, I can just smell the relaxation and good memories that I have had there. Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend and his family, I've been fortunate enough to have stayed there 9 times. 9 times!! Akumal is a place of beauty and character. It's not your run-of-the-mill stay in Mexico. It's old Mexico resort feel, the most gorgeous beach ever, clear waters, delicious food, friendly people, and fun things to do. Did I mention i love Akumal?

Anyway, best of luck to anyone who's still taking finals. I wish everyone a happy and worry free summer :) Stay in tune, I will be updating much more frequently

The Flip Slide HD

I've spent the majority of my day researching Flip cams. I finally decided I want the new HD Slide. It has double the storage, and it has a touch screen that allows you to essentially "slide" through your videos and display them. Basically, it's a really good quality HD video camera that fits in your purse.

This summer I will be visiting several countries-- Mexico, Belize, Spain, France, Monaco, and Portugal. I wanted to be able to document each country in a fun way. I'm envisioning a sort of "where to eat, where to go" kind of thing. My dream has always been to write about travel/food, so I figure a Flip camera is a perfect place to start. That and my being able to travel to so many awesome places this summer (which I'm extremely thankful for).

Please don't let me forget to blog about each city I visit. This is something I need to keep up with.

As far as life these days, many people are stressing about finals and the end of the school year. Yet, I'm finding myself unusually calm about the situation. Perhaps it's because I only have 1 test and then 3 finals, but I will have about a week to study. Nonetheless, summer is just around the corner and I'm ready for it.

Waves

Waves are such a go-to image for just about anything. I realized that today sitting in Electrical Engineering gazing at the sine wave on the board.

Friends. Friends come and go in waves. I've been telling my little sister that friends will be good friends and they'll be bad friends. You will be friends with some people for short periods in your life, and others will remain your friends for a lifetime. Even if they are your lifelong friend, there are waves of seeing them more often than other times. Have I confused everyone yet? As far as college goes, I believe the friends you make in college will be the ones you remember when you're 60 years old. Not to say that your high school or even middle school friends won't be your lifelong friends as well.

Music. I have waves of listening to music all the time and constantly exploring for new artists and quality music. Other times I prefer silence. There are days when I just want to listen to Bob Marley all day, other days I want to indulge in some horrible pop and hip hop music.

Thoughts. Is it just me? I wake up some mornings focusing all of my attention on worries and anxieties from the previous day. Trying to cast my worries and anxieties away, I think about getting rid of these thoughts, but no can do. Other days my thoughts are everything positive. There's nothing in my way, and I am on top of the world. I'll be walking down the road to get to class and I just thank God for my life and for how blessed I am to be attending a great school and be living in a wonderful place.

Is everyone seeing this "wave" trend?

Now, on to more important topics.

Body image. According to my Reporting II professor, a new eating disorder has been identified. I'm not sure what it's called, it's not orthorexia, but it has to do with being a health food junkie. This would be a healthy thing, right? No. In this case, the person is so obsessed with obtaining food that hasn't been processed and is completely and 100% organic, that if they can't find any, they will eat nothing. These health food junkie-arexics would eat nothing over a salad that may or may not have been slightly processed. Even scarier, food labels can say their food is organic if it's only 5% organic. Yep, those daily bananas you've been consuming could be 95% non-organic. Mmmmm chemicals.

Organic Food. I'm a huge advocate of eating green and organic. But I'm not obsessed. Just as a side note, I was at Whole Foods when I reached for a package of raw chicken, only to put my arm back by my side and said "Oh, it's not organic." An actual farmer with an apron approached me and handed me a different package of chicken that looked kind of fancy. "This is my company. It's completely organic. We give the chickens windows and we let them out to play when the weather is nice. We also feed them grains with no antibiotics, hormones, and pesticide-free grass." So that's what the difference is. The chickens are able to lead a happy little life and BOOM. They're organic.

--Nblank

I'm back...

So...I'm going to do a better job at posting my blogs hopefully daily, if not, every other day-ish. I go through my busy days always pausing for thoughts I never seem to be able to remember to write down. I wish Apple could come up with a device that read your mind and just sent those thoughts to your digital notepad. But then again, that could get you in a lot of trouble. Which brings me to the first topic:

The iPad. First off, who named this? I don't think it's a great name for what one guy standing next to me as we were testing them out called, "the world's largest iPhone." Indeed it is. And one thing I noticed is it encourages horrible typing skills. Sorry to all you keyboard and typing instructors. We will be now using our thumbs and pointer fingers to type. Goodbye typing skills. But, on the other hand, web browsing is super fast, unlike the iPhone. Be careful though. I accidently zoomed in on my email list and deleted an entire page. If you're commonly referred to as klutzy, clumsy, or a butterfinger, KEEP AWAY.

Technology. Ok, ok. I'm 20 years old and I can't exactly be the one to say "technology these days! My goodness!" But I'm going to anyway. Sitting behind a woman during church, the pastor begins to quote a Bible verse and she whips out her iPhone and diligently taps on the Bible app and goes straight to it. So I've been living in this 21st century too, but can we just take a step back and look at ourselves? Who would have ever thought this would be possible? You can turn your lights off in your home from miles and miles away with your PHONE. You can turn on Shazaam when you hear a cool new song playing and it tells you what that song is. WOW.

Microwaves. Has anyone ever sat and thought: why is a microwave called a microwave? Well I did the other day. And it makes sense, it just seems to be such an explicit definition of what the appliance is, such a formal name. Why not "the food zapper"? This is stupid, I'm going to stop.

Paddleboarding. Never heard of it? It's a water sport using a surf board and a paddle. You stand up on the board facing forwards with both feet and paddle yourself around. It's an awesome workout for your whole body and you feel like you're walking on water. Just a Hawaii thing? Just for the ocean? Nope, the Blankenship family has started a new trend on Lake Austin. Atleast, I'd like to think so.

College. You know, it's funny what some "college students" seem to make of their 4, sometimes 5 years at school. Yes, I said school, but some choose to take a different route. Why pay tons of money to go to a school like SMU (although, as I said, we pay more than Yale, but clearly don't make the academic cut like Yale does.) if you're just going to party every single day and groggily make it through class on your good days and just make poor grades. What's the point. Please. Feel free to comment. And don't think I'm saying I don't like to have a good time. Because I do. I'm not trying to preach here, just really thinking about why you would waste your time!

..I'm out.

Bienvenidos

I decided to become a part of the blogging world today. As busy as my life is with school, sorority stuff, and social life, I think it's important to write down your thoughts. I'll try to provide interesting things during my day, or simply things I've noted recently. Let's begin.

• Health Care. How do I feel about it? I don't like it. From what I do know about it, we will be spending millions of dollars on public health care and will soon not be able to choose our doctors. Socialism much?
• People. What's up with people? One of my biggest pet peeves on the planet is DRAMA. Speaking of pet peeves, I just remembered when I asked my mom what a pet peeve was. Expecting it to be your favorite pet's name or something. Not quite, Natalie. Anyway. I just don't get people that eat it up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (drama, that is). And you know who I'm talking about. Everyone knows someone who thrives off of drama. But get a life! Honestly. I can't deal with people who are constantly relaying rumors to me. I don't care. I just want to live my life. (heyyy-eyyy-eyyy-eyyyy -Rihanna).
• School. SMU's tuition just went up and it is higher than Yale's. Ivy League Yale. Yes we're thinking of the same Yale. WHY?? Check out this article by my classmate Sydni.

That's it for now. Follow my blog, and maybe you'll get a kick or two..

--NBlank--