Estamos en Granada

That's Spanish for "We are in Granada"

Last night was an experience for both of us as we matched Spain's authentic Chinese cuisine against that found in the U.S. It was as we expected: America wins again. Apparently General Gao didn't quite make it all they way to Iberica during his Glorious Campaign.

I made the would be safe - albiet lame - bet for sweet and sour chicken over white rice. Rosey decided against the fried chicken's balls, opting instead for a "happy family" served in a sizzling hot oil and sauce. Our pallets full and lubricated we quickly made our way back to the safety of our apartment for further adventures.

Captains Log: 12:38 a.m, 2/19/10, a Friday Morning, Somewhere in Spain

Taylor - that asshole - has apparently been updating this Internet-communication-diary-thing. I will, I perhaps, do the same.

As I'm certain almost no real Europeans are perusing my musings, I'll start with the things that suck. Item number one: Bagels:

Donde Esta the Bagels, guys?

As far as I'm concerned, the entire European continent is light-years behind America in Baked-Circular-Bread-With-a-Hold-in-the-Middle-Technology; the American Bagel - soft, and perfectly proportioned- is,to me, the most revered quadrant of the FDA food pyramid.

I would like to throw out a quick holla to the Creamer family freezer, which through some oft-magical display of generosity has produced a countless number of conjure-many-a-bagel spell for the needy.

Europe, for your lack of good taste regarding things with which to sandwich meat and cheese between, I forgive you. But not without good cause!

As it turns out, your wine...is very inexpensive, and I thank you for it. Without the blessing of Dinoysus - captured in 75 Centi-Liter bottles - I would not, indeed, be at this computer at all. Master Card will insist that the best things in life are priceless, when truly, they are about 1.80 euros and sometimes a 2008 and red.

I have not written much as of yet, so lets back track a bit. Portugal, Obrigado. I believe it to be indicative of the human spirit, and international commerce more generally, how truly far a simple obrigado - "thank you" in Portuguese, for the ignorant - will get you. Many a memory, friend, and pastry was fertilized in the wondrous city of Lisbon, and my obrigado's know no bounds. And so obrigado, obrigado...obrigado Portugal.

But we must, as always, move on to new; leave the instantaneously-nostalgic and memorable behind, once again.

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I want to, I'm very certain, make video games - for they are awesome. I want now, I have discovered, to - probably - make comics as well, for they are sweet. My revelations have unfolded themselves as such: I am to read "A lesson is learned, but the damage is irrvevrisble" until the, almost, overwhelming sense of adoration and simultaneous inadequacy muster themselves into a maelstrom of such un-be-known-st scale and intensity and then proceed to metaphorically vomit themselves unto the entire Adobe creative suite.

(tangent aside)

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The night continues to expand, while my bottle of wine successfully diminishes; as such I will sign off.

Brigadier Sargent Colonel Matthew signing off,

Matthew

Also(!):

Today, I am informed, is Tuesday. Making tomorrow Wednesday and the day of our departure from Seville to lands unknown. But first, a recap.

Rosey and I got back from Cadiz on Sunday. We decided to cut our visit to the city of waves and fiestas down to a day and a night for a number of reasons. Most prominant among them being the fact that every hostel was booked to the brim and overflowing with rowdy white kids come to get themselves a moderate shade of tipsy. No room for 2 extra white kids :(

Rosey and myself arrived with naught but the 50 pound bags on our backs. Noticing immediately that we would find no safe refuge for ourselves or our precious, precious things - we brainstormed.

Not wanting our night to be burdened, we considered stashing the gear in: 1) an abandoned apartment, 2) a construction site (believing that no work would be done by any sane contracting business the day after Saturday of Carnival (a reasonable assumption, Rosey)), 3) digging a hole on the beach and buring the bags - thus providing for a fun treasure hunt the following sometime.

Our solution: Just suck it up and wear the bags as part of our costume (we did need costumes), so we went as "the idiot american travellers who didn´t book in advance on a major holidy." Our image was accentuated with bits of paper streamers found on the ground and wine. And I put on my headlamp.

The night grew increasingly/decreasingly vivid. I won´t bore you with the details but regardless, we eventually found ourselves faced with our previous challange: where the hell to sleep.

Earlier, I had used my elf-eagle vision to spot a large sandy beach about .5-3 miles down the coast past the concrete breakers. However, now that it was night, my elf-eagle vision was completely useless (drat on the fate of things). We meandered down in the sorta beach direction eventually giving up on reaching the comfortable sand and turned downhill towards the water. A steep and eroading slope brought us down to a point where the concrete breakers (large and cubelike in form) thinned out to a simple seawall.

We spread out on the stones and glass for a wholesome slumber; awaking at various times to voices from above - obviously ill humored youth up to misdeeds. The next day we agreed that we had obtained the necessary experience to ding next level and that 3 euros for crusty bread was not in sync with our pretentions regarding food.

Just got into Seville day before yesterday. Hostel is portrayed as hip via interweb but amenities are less than par. Either way, Rosey and I got wind of this new fangled catholic holiday called "lent" (new on a geologic scale anyway). So we checked out and are on our way to Cadiz, Spain, for Carnival. It is a humanitarian mission: to help the natives usher in the month-long religious practice of moderation and temperance with a gluttonous week of revelry.

We will need costumes?

Also, this is a chance to escape the rain which will hover over Seville for a week according to iWeather.

Not sure when internet will be had again so don't go assumeing we are dead or anything if we don't post within the next few days.

Lisbon area

The ittyist of the bittyist coffee

Steep ass trolley street. Harrowing when wet due to poor traction on

sidewalks.

On good design

Though my only subject of observation thus far has been Lisbon, I am regularly impressed by how much one can fit into a small space. Smartcars are of course very prevalent in a country with roads only large enough to fit smartcars, but it goes beyond the obvious direction automobiles are taking (goofy as smartcars may be).

Restrooms. In America they are the everyman's dilemma. In Europe they are your own private world, over which you man govern atop a porcelain throne. Yes, toilets here do indeed invoke the necessity for obnoxious analogy. This is facilitated almost entirely by the fact that walls encompassing the consumptive device reach to (or just short of) the floor. 'Cause I don wana see someone else's feet when I'm working and I don't need other people examining my shoes from the other side of a half-hearted attempt at a partition.

Or when it's just you, alone, among the many empty seats and there are people outside using the sink or whatever - memorizing your shoes so that when you're done they whisper to their buddies about how "that dude was totally taking a shit in there, ya know." Because in America, your business is everyone's business. In Europe...well we always thought they were more progressive (healthcare anyone?).

Its Magic, Baby!!!

After what feels like a small lifetime - well, two or three months - I will be making a glorious and triumphant (?) return to the game which holds, perhaps, the greatest place in my heart: Magic: The Gathering. In Portugal, Cool! 

A game whose complexity is matched only by its elegance, the language of Magic is universal. Of course I will have to reacquaint myself with the newest sets, World Wake, though the cards seem awesome at a glance, so I doubt that will require all that much effort on my part. 

The tagline for the pro tour is to: play magic, see the world, and it might not be on the pro tour but a simple Friday Night Magic will easily appease my thirst . And a pre release no doubt, perhaps the most fun a dude can have with a bunch of other dudes with cardboard. 

Gleaning over the cards it seems, wizards might want to take the defining speed of triple zendikar drafts down a notch, with what seems to be a greater abundance of 3/3 s to hold down the fort. Will this amount to much? I'm skeptical. 

Well, i have a bit of work ahead of me before Friday. But it will be fun to see how i can manage overseas. I feel sudden satisfaction with myself for finding room in my backpack for my binder of rares; hopefully the can amount to a playable amount of store credit. 

And fledgling Griffin looks bad ass. 

Matt, for now.

Lisboa

Just found our first internt. Decent pricing at 2 euros provides for 30min on the web and one beer. Comcast should consider subscription options based on this model (I´ll twitter hardcore on this issue). Right now we are looking for even cheaper versions of hostel style living. We stayed our first night and day at a 50eu location. The architecture is beautiful, the city generally smells delicious but liquor stores close at 8pm.

Followng the success of our search for free and unecumbered internet, Ill post some pictures.

Rolling out.

Black out drunk we enter the airport. After a series of deeply personal and sexually-extensional questions administered to us by a pair of stern security cadets we come to in a flying-like device resembling a large bird. To be continued...

Airport Day1

Rosey and I just got robbed. By the 1/.6 dollars to euro exchange rate. New promise to self: no graduation until the we are once again the strongest global economy. At least things in the U.S. are finally on the mend... so that when we return we can loose even more money exchanging euros back to dollars. That's pretty cool. Aight, ima pass the mic over to MC Rose-E.