deep thoughts by felipe...

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:20:00 +0000

Goodbye Barcelona!

This will be my last post from Barcelona, and it comes at the end of a very emotional month. It started out in Mid June when we finally finished clases. It was bitter sweet, happy to have finished, but knowing the goodbye's were going to begin. Then my family arrived in Barcelona, I hadn't seen them in quite some time so I was very happy to have them here. I showed them around Barcelona for a week, took them to Monserrat as well, and of course they came to my graduation. After the graduation we had a private party in one of the nice clubs here, and that would be the last time our class would be all together because some people already began going back home the next day.

That next weekend me and the family went off on a week long Meditarranean cruise. We had alot of fun on the boat, as well as off, and I posted most of the pictures already. Although I am missing some from France & the boat itself.

Then when we got back we all split up as my family did a bit more traveling in Europe before heading back home. I then had a week left to finish my monster thesis, which I had decided to finish before leaving Barcelona. Well I finished it, and defended it yesterday at the University. Long story short I passed therefore I will be getting my actual diploma and official transcripts sent out on August 2nd.

So after a very busy, emotional month I sit here in my flat and think back at what a truly great experience this year has been. It is one of the best choices I could have made. I also got to meet so many great people, some which became great friends. This week has been full of goodbye drinks/dinners/presents and I feel truly blessed.

That being said I will miss Barcelona, but I am looking forward to seeing alot of you back home and finaly getting some In n Out, Dr.Pepper, good mexican food....I will be in L.A. tomorrow night. I will finish posting the pictures some time this week but there are already a bunch of them there you can see.

Goodnight....

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 19:06:00 +0000

This is my friend Vicky at the Ecuador-Costa Rica game last week....She's German....wait are those Ecuador colors on her cheeks? Yeah I thinnk they are....GO ECUADOR!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 14:21:00 +0000

Finished

So I havent posted in a while (whats new, heheh) but anyhow here goes an update...

I finally finished classes this last Friday and I am now officially done with my MBA. I do however have to defend my thesis on July 17th and then I will hop on a plane back to LA on the 19th. Our graduation ceremony is on June 27th, my Sister (and her family), Diego, and my parent are going to be here in Barcelona next Sunday. They will be here for the graduation, I will also show them around Barca for a week and then on July 1st we are all going on a week long cruise. This is my graduation gift from the family. We leave Barca and stop in Naples, Civitavecchia, Florence, Nice & Marseille should be fun!

I can t believe I only have 1 month left here!! I am going to miss Barcelona alot but I will be back to visit. I have officially made it my 3rd city (behind L.A. and Quito).

Speaking of Ecuador has anyone been watching the world cup? (besides Crista) Ecuador has been kicking serious butt. We play Germany this Tuesday & I smell an upset....but even if we lose it doesnt matter we are already off to the next round.......GO ECUADOR!!

On a final note I will post some new pictures this week & then again in July when I have all the cruise and graduation pics......I will see you guys soon =)

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 15 May 2006 21:46:00 +0000

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Sun, 07 May 2006 20:27:00 +0000

Hello Again

Hi Everyone, I am sorry I have not posted for so long. Obviously alot has happened since March (when I last posted) but I will update you all when I see you but a picture is worth a thousand words so you can check out the pictures I have posted on My photos.

I am using this website right now for a test in my e-business & digital economy class in which I am applying search engine optimization tools. So.....hello to my class!

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 02:47:00 +0000

dude, i fixed your banner. now post something! (perhaps the sideways trip pictures...)

-chris (not felipe)

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:26:00 +0000

New Pictures Up!

I just posted some new Pictures from Andorra this past weekend (beautiful!) and from Superbowl Sunday here in Barcelona.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:56:00 +0000

My 100th Post!
(Wow it only took me 3 1/2 years hahaha)

I m sorry for being so bad at updating...Its just that by the time I get home, do homework, eat, I don’t much have the energy to write more. So today I am writing from work, since it’s a little slow today.

So a quick update: French is going better than expected, I think the background in Spanish has helped a lot. School is going well also, I have finals next week and then I am officially at the ‘half-way point’. Work is going good as well, I like the environment there is at the office. I will post some pictures of the WTC here (where I work) soon because it really is a cool looking building that appears to hang over the water (well it kind of does).

As far as other activities, I have gone out a bit on the weekends. I am actually going to Andorra this weekend to ski. Andorra is a small country that lies between Spain and France, they speak a dialect similar to Catalan and have great skiing. I am going cheap because I am going with a Spanish couple that I met here (who have a place up there), I am also going with couple of friends from school. In other words the only thing I will be paying for is the lift ticket and rentals. It should be fun, I haven’t skied since my birthday last year in Mammoth.

I will post pictures from this weekend next week sometime, as well as a few pictures that I took last weekend visiting ‘La Palau de la música Catalana’.

Can somebody Fed Ex me a In n Out burger, or decent Mexican food?

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 14:03:00 +0000

Bones Festes!
(Thats Happy Holidays in Catalan)

First of all I would like to wish all my good friends a very happy New Year!!!

So much to write about....For starters Christmas was nice, I spent last weekend up at my step-brothers house a bit north of here, and it was very relaxing. He is a chef so needless to say I ate very well for Xmas...then I spent last week finishing up the last paper I had to sent for my European businees enviroment class. After that my friend Toby, Sarah, Vicky, and Bastian came to spend new years here from Germany...we had a great weekend of going out, catching up, dancing, sightseeing, and then we capped it off by having New Years dinner (very traditional here in Spain)and then at midnight we went up to the rooftop terrace and did the countdown & then ate 12 grapes & made twelve wishes as the midnight bells tolled (also very traditional here). After that at around 2am we made our way to Pacha, a nightclub that we had tickets for(for those of you that have been to Ibiza, you know the place), and danced/celebrated until about 6am. I honestly had a great time this weekend, it was nice to have good friends around. Unfortunately I did'nt take alot of pictures but I just posted the ones I did take, and as I get more from other people who took pictures I will add them.

In addition to having a great time, it looks like Toby may be able to get me a couple tickets to the Ecuador-Costa Rica world cup game in Hamburg on June 15th! Even if for some reason he cant get them I am still going to go to Hamburg to visit them & take in the World cup atmosphere during that time...

In other news, I start school again next week, as well as French classes. I am becoming more and more enthralled by Europe & by learning languages. I would like to learn German as well after French. Its not uncommon for people here (like at my work) to speak 4-5 languages...I love it!

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 23:37:00 +0000

Bad Blogger!!!

Hi all! I'm sorry I have not updated for a while. Things have been busy as I have started working part-time in the mornings from 9-1...and then I go straight to school for classes from 3-9. In addition this week we had finals which I had to study for. I cannot believe I am 1/3 of the way done with the school year already!

Other then that things have been pretty much the same here...Its very cold, but I guess thats perfect for Christmas time. It looks like I will be staying here for Christmas, and spending it with my step-brother and his family (who live about a half hour north of here). Then for new years I have some friends who will be coming to spend it in Barcelona! I will keep you posted ;)

Also tomorrow night is our school Christmas dinner, tapas and drinks! I will post pictures from that some time this weekend.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 18:33:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey day to everyone back home. Obviously this is not a Holiday that is celebrated here in Europe, although I did eat a thanksgiving dinner at the Hard Rock cafe with some American friends here, as well as one of our American professors. It definately was not as tasty as a home cooked thanksgiving dinner (the stuffing was horrible!), but it was more about the meaning, and the company anyhow. I have so much to be Thankful for this year, but above all I am thankful for my family, good friends, and a loving God who I am forever indebted to...

I will be posting some pictures shortly from Thanksgiving and this weekend. My birthday is on Sunday, and some friends organized a dinner for me on Saturday night, and then we are all going out to celebrate after that.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:45:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 14:03:00 +0000

November Rain

So it has been raining off an on this weekend here. I got back from Rome on Monday, and the trip was great. On the Friday night I was in Rome Diego called me on my cell, our dialog went something like this...Diego - "Hey bro what are you up to?" Felipe - "Oh nothing much, I'm just sitting here having a beer in front of the Pantheon". This is indicative of the entire 4 days....the city is amazing, there was so much to see. I already posted the pictures, as well as a couple from last night. Tuesday was our last class in one of our marketing courses, so our Professor invited us out to this really nice, really expensive club last night. She paid for all of us to get in (18 Euros a head), as well as took care of the drink tab....apparently she has some money.

Now I am working on a final that I have to turn in on Monday for strategy formulation, next week should be much less hectic then this last one was......Thank God!

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 01:51:00 +0000

Today shishkabobs tomorrow Rome!

Yes we cooked shishkabobs for dinner tonight, and now I'm packing because I'm off to Rome tomorrow with my roomate Nick. I have never been so I am really looking forward to it. Like I said before I will post pictures as soon as I get back next Monday.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 23:25:00 +0000

Some Bad news and a quick update....

I'll start with the bad. My closest cousin had recently had an episode with a weird type of flu...really more serious then that...she had been hospitalized because she was having trouble breathing and was in danger of going into respiratory arrest for a while there. She was able to recover from that, but now it seems to be coming back & doctors have no idea what is causing it. They are running tests and says she is a 1 in 100,000 case. I would ask that whoever reads my blog please pray for her health as well as my Aunt who is obviously very affected by this......Thank You

Now as far as my update, I am adjusting to life here pretty well...I have mid terms this week, and then I have next week off....originally I was going to meet Diego in Istanbul but apparently filming has taken an extra week so he will still be in 'whatever village' he is in filming during my week off instead of Instanbul. So instead I just booked a very cheap flight to go to Rome for 4 days. I will update as soon as I get back & post some long overdue pictures.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 01:06:00 +0000

Man Overboard!....ok almost

Well I've been here over a week now & I am starting to get settled in pretty good. I just finished doing some homework I needed to do for tomorrow & getting ready for bed, it's about 3am here. This weekend was fun, I got to hang out with alot of my new classmates. On Friday a classmate who is renting a boat (to live in) while he is here invited the entire class to a party on his boat. It was a nice boat, but not big enough to hold all 25 of us on the top deck. At one point the boat rocked and a bunch of tools, a computer monitor & some purses fell into the water. We were there fishing all the stuff back out of the water....pretty funny. Then to top it all off I almost fell into the water while getting off the boat!

Then Saturday I went to see the church of 'La Sagrada Familia' which Gaudi designed (famous Spanish architect who died back in the 20's). It is a beautiful church & it's not even done yet...Gaudi was so specific in his design that it is estimated to be finished in 2030! I posted some pictures if you are interested in seeing it.

In other news Diego is filming a movie in Turkey right now (opposite Billy Zane) and he'll be there through the end of the month so I might go spend a few days there because I have a week off at the end of the month & he said he can get me a free ticket there.....more to come....

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 01:04:00 +0000

It's official! Ecuador is going to its 2nd straight World Cup!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 23:32:00 +0000

A Post from across the 'Pond'

Well hello there, long time no post. So much has happened since the last time I posted that I dont even know where to start. I was in Ecuador last week which was nice because I needed a week to rest and relax before starting school. It was also great to see my parents, family & of course Anabel. I also got to see the new sky cabs they put in which take you to the top of a mountain which is at about 13,000 feet in elevation (Quito is at just under 10,000) I will post some pictures tomorrow so you can all see how beautiful Quito is & you can also see me up there at the oxygen bar.

I arrived in Barcelona on Saturday and spent most of the weekend jet-lagged. Although I will admit I did go out on Saturday night & ended up sleeping 14 hours straight on Sunday! Anyhow my roomates are great, 1 is from California and the other is from Holland. They are both nice, clean & we all get along good. The apartment is in a great area, safe yet central to everything. I started school yesterday & met alot of my peers. It great to be somewhere where there is soooo much cultural diversity. Tonight I didn't have a late class so about 16 of us went to play soccer. I can say that I am really enjoying myself here in Barcelona, it's an experience I will forever cherish (gee wizz you'd think I've been here a year already!)

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 05:56:00 +0000

Great Wedding, Great Weekend

I just got home today from Sacramento. I was up there for Billys Wedding & it was one of the funnest weekends I've had in a while. The Church was beautiful and the reception was awesome, it was at a vineyard. I was able to hang out with alot of good friends & also got to meet some great people. Truly a weekend I will cherish in my memories. Everything was flawless, I posted some pictures for those of you who are interested...

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:33:00 +0000

Rock Star Update

Down to the final four! I'm going to have to predict that it's going to come down to Marty, JD & Suzie in the final 3, of those I honestly have no idea who will win. Mig is good but has been cracking a bit lately & I dont think he fits in with the band. I believe that he hasn't been in the bottom 3 because all of Australia must be voting for him, again I think he's great but not the best for INXS. If I had to pick who I think INXS will pick I'll say.....JD. I dont like him much but I think the band does....

What sucks is that I wont even get to see the last 2 weeks because I'll already be gone. At least I can see the performances online.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 06:44:00 +0000

Unaccepatable...........

I am embarrased and angry at how long it has taken politicians to get troops and aid to the affected victims of Hurricane Katrina. Troops are finally pouring in today but 4-5 days is unacceptable. I was literally teared up today watching the news.....

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 07:33:00 +0000

Weekend Update

This past weekend was supposed to be our work retreat but it got postponed until October, on one hand it was kind of nice because I got to relax this weekend and take care of some things around town. I also went to see 'The Brothers Grimm' with my bro, I liked it, it was a bit cheesy at times but over all I enjoyed it.

This coming weekend I'm going to College Hume (I know I'm getting too old for this) I wanted to take the opportunity to relax, enjoy Hume one last time & get some fellowship in. The weekend after that I'm going to Billy's Wedding in Sacramento & the weekend after that a few of us are doing a 'Sideways' type trip up to wine country as kind of a going away trip. After taht I have a couple days to pack & I'm of to Ecuador for 5 days & then to Barcelona.

I havent posted pictures in a while & so I will take advantage of all the occasions coming up to take some and post them. FYI we ended up hiring the girl from Biola to replace me, she starts Thursday.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 08:51:00 +0000

2.1 Million........

So I finally sold the Beamer yesterday and guess who bought it???? Larry H Parkers daughter, isn't that funny. I actually ended up having a couple of Happy hour margaritas with her & her friend. I'm so relieved that I sold now I am ready to leave to Barcelona. I also think I found my replacement at work, I interviewed a girl (who happens to be a Biola Alumni) and she's perfect. She'll interview this week with Cristi & Karla and if they like her she'll start Monday the 29th.

In other news I got my butt kicked at some street fighter style game (gamecube) by Justin & Chris tonight. A few of us went to see Chris & Ashleys new place tonight and to hang out for a while.....tomorrow I'm taking my nieces to Disneyland....must sleep.....

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 08:41:00 +0000

Check this out...

So Saturday afternoon I went to a BBQ at Chris Kattan's house (yes from SNL) My brother is friends with him and so thats why I got to go. He lives fairly close to our place and here is a quick rundown of some of the celebrities that were there...Chris Kattan, Matthew Perry, Rose McGowan, Adrian Brody, Seth Myers, Patricia Arquette, Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Paul Reuben aka PeeWee Herman & Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars)

Considering there was only about 60 people at the BBQ alot of them were celebs & I only talked to 3 - Seth Meyers who was a really good guy, Kristen Bell because she's cute and I watch her show, and Chris Kattan who is also very cool. I did have a brief conversation with Pee Wee but he kinda creeped me out. I'm not one to get star struck because over the years with my bro being an actor I've gotten to meet alot of celebs but it's just a trip to be at a BBQ with that many of them all at once.

noreply@blogger.com (Felipe) — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 06:13:00 +0000

August already?!@#$%

Well it's officially August and I'm leaving in about a month and a half. It's crazy because I dont have 1 open weekend from now until then. I was going to Billy's bachelor party next weekend but I cant even go to that (and I'm in the wedding) because I have to go to NY for work. I tried getting out of it every which way but it's a busy weekend for the agency so I have no choice.

I am all ready to go except that I havent sold my car yet, I put it on Auto Trader yesterday so hopefully that will help.

By the way the World Cup starts next summer & I wont be here (I'll be there) but I expect you boys to carry on the tradition of watching the games - Chris, James, Shmitty (who I accidentally called shitty the other night) DONT LET ME DOWN, I'll be checking in on you guys. Maybe now that James is 22 he can bring beer instead of Coke in the bottle...