Journal entry #1

Today the journey begins, the journey that will transform my ordinary life of a college student into a lifestyle of adventure, action, romance, and whatever else may follow. I just finished up my sophomore/junior year of college at Eckerd College in St. Pete, FL, where I will receive a double degree in International Business and Spanish.
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DOWNTOWN ST. PETE

I have devised a plan which will hopefully carry me throughout the rest of my life. This summer I will travel in between Florida, Georgia, D.C., and Colorado. These travels will no doubt be full of exploits, danger, and adventures, but the highlight will come in July; I have a one way ticket to Córdoba, Argentina, where I will study at La Universidad Catolica de Córdoba for a semester. From there I will do some traveling and write about my experiences, documenting the differences in culture and language, lifestyle, and standards of living. But enough about the future, lets talk about today’s adventures.
I started the day out at my house in St. Petersburg, Fl. It was hectic, as all travel days are. I awoke at about 9, and began the day with a hot cup of coffee. Good god o’mighty what a great way to start the day, with some freshly ground coffee beans that I bought at the local Albertsons Grocery Store (The Albertsons on 54th Ave S has got to be the worst store in the world!). After drinking that, I went to work, trying to tie up some loose ends. First, I had to make some flyers advertising some furniture that I will be selling before I go to Argentina. I placed these around at laundry mats and mailboxes at a few apartment complexes in the neighborhood. After completing this task, off to St. Vincent Paul Thrift Store on 34th st., to donate some stuff out of the goodwill of my heart! (Actually, I knew that I could not sell this stuff, so off to Charity it goes. When I am rich I will donate lots. I really would like to try to end poverty, it is ridiculous that 2/3rds of the world lives in abject poverty.) Finally, I was able to pack up my car with some stuff to store at the Gparents house in Maconga (Macon, GA). I hit the road about noon, and was amazed, no, astonished that I did not hit any traffic going through Tampa on 275 N. I think that this was a first. The trip was pretty uneventful. Along the way I saw some road-kill: a racoon, an opossum, and a dog. I had to stop for gas, and ate some Mickey D’s. Ran into a little bit of traffic in southern GA, but nothing to cry about. That section of the highway has been under construction ever since I first moved to St. Pete two years ago, reckon it will be for at least another two years, although I can’t quite figure out what they are doing. I arrived in Mactown around 6pm, right on schedule.
I haven’t been doing much since my arrival, other than unpacking and visiting with the Gparents and my dad. Gene Bass and Catfish stopped by to do some fishing at the lake. I haven’t seen them since the good ole days of traveling around with the JC boys. Catfish is touring with the Marshall Tucker band, told me to check em out next time they were in FL.
Gma is ok, struggling with Alzheimer’s as best she can. She is pretty advanced now, but seemed happy to see me, even if she doesn’t know who I am anymore. She recognizes my name, D3, but not the face, and every time I leave the room, I must remind her who I am and where I’ve come from, if not everything else about me. I don’t mind going through it over and over again, they say it is best just to go along with it instead of trying to argue with someone in her state. Don’t know who is worse, her or Gpa. Bless his heart. He always seems so worn down everytime I am here. It must be hard to see someone that you’ve known your whole life, and this is over an 80 year long life, morph into some one so helpless. It is a very strange disease, completely eating away at the mental functions. Regardless of their condition, it will always be good to see them. What a funny world we live in, where people grow up, move out, and see their loved ones just a couple of times a year, if their lucky. A hundred years ago that would have seemed absurd. So busy we are with the hustle and bustle of life, money, school, etc... Is this our purpose on this globe? It would be nice if we were all well off, and did not have to worry about what happens next, and we could hold and cherish those that we keep so dear to our hearts more often. Yet, I would not be happy with that; I was put on this earth to wander, searching for something that I have not yet found. Or maybe I already have, it is hard to say, as I do not yet know for what it is I am searching. Well, I don’t know what else to write, so I will leave it at that.