Andrew Peron

come on. how ridiculously cool is that.

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I realized this morning I haven’t posted in a while, and seeing as I’m on vacation, you’d think I’d be writing more now than usual. Christmas and the holidays are now over, leaving us new years as the final chance to enjoy 2008. It’s been a long year, that’s for sure, but it went much faster than I could have thought. But now I have to figure out what my resolution for the year is gonna be. Sure, I could take the easy way out and “not eat candy” or “go to the gym more”, but those never seem to work. This year, I need to promise something that means more to me. This year, I think I’m going to try and do more for of what I do for myself. I spend too much time worrying about too many things, and it’s time that I had some “me” time.

So to everyone, happy new year. Happy 2008. And let’s make 2009 even better.

Peace, love.

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I have to admit, I’ve watched it. Some of my family members, not mentioning names, have a horrible habit of pulling up Puppy Cam during the day, and leaving it on, just to watch these tiny (for now) puppies roam around their cage, playing with one another. But really, the most popular?!

The Shiba Inu Puppy Cam has become the most popular Ustream.tv video stream viewed, with 15 million views total. This combines to a total of 773 years of streaming time viewed. Although this may be attributed to the fact that some people find these things so damn cute, it is also a sign that the live internet streaming scene very well may become a more legitimate and mainstream staple than it already is. But as the pups grow up, and are moved to their new homes, there seems to be less and less cuteness to be had for loving viewers. But there’s hope.

In lieu of the success of the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam, another Ustream user has followed in the footsteps, and has launched the Shiba Inu’s West Chester, PA Cam, with 5 tiny Shiba Inu puppies born on November 28th, 2008. At the time of this writing, this new puppy cam has already recieved over 29,000 views, which I’m sure will keep increasing as the final pups from the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam are finally sent off.

In case you need to feel warm and cuddly:
Original Shiba Inu Puppy Cam:

Shiba Inu West Chester Cam:

Source: Alley Insider ; Ustream.tv

Uncategorized cam, chester, inu, pa, pennsylvania, puppy, shiba, west

So I have the BlackBerry Curve right now,

But I’m getting Storm fever.

So i’m brainstorming (see what I did there?) for ways to get money and buy a Storm.

I’m selling my Curve.

But I don’t think anyone who reads this wants one. But if you do! Ask away.

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I’ve started using a new(ish) website, Qik. It allows you to stream video live from your cellphone to the internet. Pretty neat stuff. You can check it out here: Qik.com

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For the first time in my lifetime,

I can proudly say without any shadow of doubt,
that I am proud of the country I live in.

We have finally done what many have tried to do for hundreds of years in this country.
We have broken the barrier of race, preventing equality in the stake of our country’s future.
For the first time, we have seen that Americans know how to look past race, and to see the person who is truly beneath.

As I write this, I watch Reverend Jesse Jackson, in tears, without words, at what we have accomplished. For what many have said over the years, about equality, and the ultimate goal of abolishing intolerance, Jesse Jackson was at the modern cornerstone of this fight. And tonight, he has achieved what he has worked so hard for, what we have all worked so hard for.

Though we are not without our problems, as a nation, and though we are not without faults,
we can say without a doubt,
that today, we, as America,
are truly a free nation.

So let us mark that November 4th, 2008,
was the day America achieved its dream.

To the great leaders of the past, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, I only wish that you were here tonight to finally see that all of your hard work was not in vain. We owe many great things to you, and this is our way of saying thank you, for believing in what none of us thought was possible.

To Barack Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, I must thank you for helping to raise the man that Barack Obama has become. I cannot say how sad it makes me that you were not here tonight to see what he has accomplished. I know you would be proud.

So thank you,
thank you all,
whether you support John McCain or Barack Obama,
we are all Americans.
and we can all take great pride in what we have achieved tonight.

Goodnight, and good work.

Uncategorized barack, obama

Sanssouci, Potsdam, Germany.

So I know I said I would write “tomorrow” over a week ago, but I had a problem with the webhost and it wasn’t resolved until Friday. So now, I’m back, ready to write more.

Week 2:

We’ve already settled in pretty well. Brandon’s constantly on the phone with Summer, at least 3 times a day, sometimes for hours at a time. My particular favorite was the hour conversation that lasted the majority of the drive from Schwerin to Potsdam, outside of Berlin. By the time we got there, I was more than ready to get out of the car and walk around. We found a Starbucks, and sat down and used their Wi-Fi for a while, seeing as none of us had checked email or anything in multiple days. It’s been especially difficult for me and Brandon not to have persistent access to internet anytime we want, as when we’re bored at home, we usually can find something mildly entertaining to do on the internet. Without that option, we resorted to books, which is not a bad thing, I’ve done alot of good reading on the trip thus far, the only problem is once I start reading a book, I can’t put it down until I’m done if it’s good. But anyways, back to the story. So we sit down, and I realize I still have about $200USD in my wallet, that I can’t use at all. I figure I might as well use that as opposed to the credit card, and it just so happens that there’s a bank about two buildings down from where we’re sitting. I go in and exchange my stack of cash. Now, from my rough calculation, based on the exchange rate of dollar to euro, i should get something around 125-145 Euros for my cash. I hand the teller my money, and she gives me the Euros. I stand there and count them, while she goes in the back room to take care of something. I’m a bit alarmed when i count out about 105 euros and some coins. When the teller returns, I ask her what the total amount in Euros should have been. She tells me something like 133.50, and I show her that I only have about 107 and some change, including the coins. She then tells me that since she didn’t watch me count them, she has no way of knowing whether or not I was just hiding the other 25 euros. I told her that I can assure her I wasn’t, and that I’d like her to count her till. So she begins to count. And then she counts again. Then the other teller counts it. Then counts again. And at the end, she still comes up with an even till. At this point, I’m pissed, that I’m being treated like some kind of sketchy kid right off the bat, and also that I’m out €25, which is a good 40 dollars US. I give her my phone number, my name, my email. Oh, and the name of Brandon’s dad, the microbiologist, and his grandfather, the lawyer. When she hears that he is a lawyer, she immediately gets alarmed. She asks me to wait. After 10 minutes, she comes out, with an envelope in her hand. She slides it through the window to me, and I open it. Inside is €25. She apologizes for the confusion, and I leave. What a great start to the day.

Then, we decide to go see the Sanssouci, which was the Summer palace of Frederick the Great. The thing is huge, it has the gardens that surround it, and then you see this huge palace, and it’s completely breathtaking, as you can tell from the picture above. We take some pictures, and it starts to get overcast. Really overcast. We decide it’s probably a good idea to leave. We sprint off to the car, and decide to call it a (rather short) day in Potsdam. On the drive home, Sum calls again, and we have to endure some argument about something that I didn’t care enough to listen to. I’m too busy thinking about all of the stuff that I miss from home, seeing all my friends, talking to people I know, but mostly, just being familiar with my surroundings. Being in a setting where it’s foreign and new is cool for maybe 10 days, but after that point, you kind of long for something familiar to come along. Although, the weird thing is, as the days go on, the more familiar Germany becomes. Especially Schwerin. We’ve spent so much time walking around this little city, we know where everything good is, we’ve found some good local restaurants, even made good friends with Julia, the waitress at Cafe Manet, who is obsessed with the fact that we’re American. She says that Schwerin isn’t really an American tourist destination, and that they only get about 1 or 2 Americans every few months. She speaks amazing English, mostly because she lived in Canada for about 2 years, for school, and really liked it there. Me and Bran end up coming back here alot. It’s kind of nice to go somewhere and talk to someone else, all while enjoying a beer. Which is another pro of being in Germany. But anyways, Germany has become a home away from home, it’s changed alot of the way I think about some things, and really made me start to realize what it would be like when I move out. But anyways, thats all for Part III, my fingers hurt, and I have homework to do before tomorrow morning. Check back soon.

Trip

My new friend, Pancho Villa.

Today, I’d like to tell you about the battle of Pancho Villa. Not the one you would normally think of, though. This has nothing to do with Mexico, or Zapata. This is about the kid you see standing above in the picture.

As I was walking to 6th period yesterday, I see, in the sea of kids in front of me, an obscenely large sombrero bobbing and weaving in and out of kids. Naturally, my “WTF” instinct kicked in, and I followed the kid to get a better look at him. Here’s the spy shot i caught:

Pancho Villa spy shot.

For all intensive purposes, seeing as I don’t know his real name, we will call him Pancho Villa from here forward.

The story goes as this: Apparently, Pancho Villa had a Spanish project he had to present today, and his teacher told him if he dressed up for the presentation, that bonus points would be rewarded. This apparently piqued Pancho’s interest enough to make him want to go out, find a ridiculously large sombrero, and a mexican poncho, and don his ridiculous ensemble to school, all day. The best part, however, is that apparently his partner had already presented for both of them earlier in the week, while he was sick, therefore rendering Pancho’s entire outfit completely unnecessary, yet still absolutely hilarious.

So I want to say, thanks for the laughs Pancho Villa. You made my Friday just THAT much funnier.

School

This is where it all happens. The magic. The art. The genius. The…. Bowie High School newspaper.

Yeah. I do graphics for my school newspaper. You’re jealous.

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Brandon making the noose he'll eventually try to hang me with.

So, where did we leave off. Oh, yeah.

Day 3: July 9, 2008

I sit up in bed and look out the window, at a pretty impressive sunrise. I stumble around, look for clothes, take a shower, and unpack some more stuff. I come to the realization that if I’m gonna be here for a month, I might as well put stuff away like I live here. After about an hour of all of these things, I look around and find my watch, and look at the time. 5:15 AM. I think to myself, I must be on Austin time. I grab my German cell phone, flip it open, and see -you guessed it- 5:15 AM. Germany time. I slowly realize that apparently in Germany, the sun rises in the middle of the goddamn night. Later I realize that it makes sense, as we are much closer to the North Pole than the US is. It’s also relatively light outside until around 11:30 at night, which is kind of nice, makes the night last longer. It’s only actually dark from about 11:30 - 4:30, making it the shortest, most ridiculous sleep cycle i’ll ever experience. Unless I go to Alaska. I read until about 8:30, and then wake Brandon up. He looks at me, with a weird look on his face. I asked him what the problem was. He replies with a huge fart. And Brandon is up for the day.

Apparently, Germans love to eat Bread for every meal. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, unlike dinner in the US. Every other meal is more like a snack, usually a loaf of really awesome bread, with your choice of butter, cheeses, salamis, and other goodies. For breakfast, you can throw in jam or fruit, but most people opt for the Salami, or cheeses. My particular favorite is fleischsalat, which is essentially strips of ham in some disgusting, white sauce, with other dead animals in it. Awesome.

Yeah. Fleischsalat. Let the vomit begin.

I decide to go for the butter and chives, and begin. As the trip goes on, I promise myself, I’ll try some of the nasty shit they have here. Me and Brandon eat, and decide to go off into the city, and find some fun stuff to do. It’s the middle of the week, and German kids are still in school, so we have free reign of the city, essentially. We discover that Germans love Subway, the fast food restaurant, however, we decide not to order, as we have no idea how i would tell them all of the shenanigans I want on my sandwich in German. We instead go sit outside the large shopping mall, find free wi-fi, and begin sending the emails. Brandon calls his wife, as he will begin to do everyday. I brought him an extra cell phone to use while we’re here, and he buys a SIM card from the T-Mobile store down the street from the apartment. German cell service is a bit different than US cell service, in the sense that everything you receive is free, it’s what you send that costs you. So every time his wife (aka girlfriend Summer) calls him, it doesn’t cost a penny for him. No matter how long he talks. Which is usually hours. On end. When they aren’t on the phone, they’re video chatting on iChat, while I sit and wish I had someone who could waste their day talking to me. Alas, I finish my emails, and leave Brandon to talk to his lover.

I walk to the castle, and decide to take a look around. I sneak into a backdoor, and I’m promptly kicked out by a very angry, small, German man. Fair enough. I decide to walk by the lake that borders the castle, almost a natural moat of sorts, and find a bench. At this time, my mom calls. First time I’ve spoken to anyone on the phone since Sunday. It’s good to hear my mom, and she’s glad to know I’m doing okay. I promise to send her pictures of the cool stuff, and I tell her to tell my dad hi for me. I finish up, and walk to the ice cream cafe right near the castle. Brandon calls, and meets me. We eat, laugh at the weird method of dress, and go back to the apartment.

View from the top of the apartment.

I’ve got homework to do, and food to cook, so look for Part III tomorrow.

Trip