Tag: 2023

My German Adventure

Let me start off by saying this will be a long post. I am writing about my 10-day trip to Germany from September 20 – September 30, 2023. And for the sake of simplicity, I’ll be using the 24-hour clock when talking about times.

First off, I don’t think I want to admit it, but I will. I feel like I was under prepared for the trip. Excited? Yes. But definitely not prepared. What do I mean by that? Well, more jet lag than anything. Until now, I’ve never left the United States. My longest trip distance wise was to Hawaii about 20 years ago. My first international trip was to a place that’s a 9 hour plane ride away. Do I regret it? Not for a second, but it did take some getting used to.

I went with a friend of mine. We left at 22:30 on the 20th and arrived in Frankfurt at 14:20 on the 21st. I also worked 10:00 – 18:00 on the 20th before we left. Once we arrived in Frankfurt, we took 3 hour train ride on the ICE to Munich. Between the 20th and 21st, I got little to no sleep, and I’m certain I was up for basically 24 hours straight, if not more.

The 21st was a rough day. Lack of sleep, jet lag, being in a new place, it all added to building anxiety. We wandered the streets of Munich that night and found some stores and places to eat. There were a lot of people walking around as well. Some sober, some drunk.

After walking around for a bit, we went to the bar at the hostel we were staying at. We had a drink and then we went to Subway. That’s correct, I traveled 4500 miles to go to a Subway. I’m not proud of it, but it was open and it was familiar. After we ate, I went to sleep and I slept very well that night.

The 22nd we walked around Munich in the rain. We were planning on going to Oktoberfest, but we weren’t in the mood for it in the rain. We did get to see St. Paul’s Church and more of Munich, which was pretty cool.

On the 23rd, I woke up and was not feeling well at all. I took some ibuprofen, hoping it would help, and it eventually did. We headed over to Oktoberfest, and I can’t even begin to describe it. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Sure, I’ve been to Oktoberfest back home, but American Oktoberfest is nothing compared to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. There was beer and food everywhere. There were carnival games and rides everywhere. The tents were packed and loud. Everyone needs to go to Oktoberfest in Munich at least once in their life. It’ll be the best party you ever attend.

Our time in Munich came to an end on the 24th. We left Munich to go to Leipzig. We got to Leipzig and walked around for a bit. We didn’t really do anything until the 25th. The 25th is when we went out and really explored. We went to the Stasi Museum and St. Thomas Church, where Johann Sebastian Bach is buried. Both were really awesome to see. The Stasi Museum is a small but fascinating museum, and the church is magnificent.

The 26th, we made our way to Berlin. We stayed outside the city center and it was nice. I managed to find a small Irish pub down the street called Molly Malone’s. We had an awesome time there. We found out the one bartender was from South Carolina, and the other lived in Chicago for a bit. We also got to witness a group of school kids sing karaoke. That was quite entertaining to see.

We spent most of the 27th in Berlin. We walked all over the place. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, and we went to Checkpoint Charlie. While at Checkpoint Charlie, we went to the little museum that was next to it. We also touched part of the Berlin Wall. I always get excited when I can see and touch a part of history. It comes with being a major history geek.

The following day, we left Berlin and headed for our last stop: Frankfurt. Upon arriving in Frankfurt, I wasn’t impressed. It didn’t look that great. I was proven wrong shortly after. The 29th we really explored Frankfurt. We started walking and we stumbled upon the Old Town. That little area alone made the trip to Frankfurt worth it. Just past the Old Town, we went to St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral. We walked inside and I was in awe. The Cathedral is beautiful and definitely worth checking out.

Inside the Cathedral, they had a little board with some history of the area. It explained how the Old Town and part of the Cathedral we destroyed during World War II. Looking at it now, you’d never be able to tell. After visiting the Cathedral, we walked across a bridge going over the Main River and we walked down the river for a bit. While on the bridge, I saw the wind blow someone’s hat off their head and into the river. They tried to get it before it went into the river, but they were too late.

After our short time in Frankfurt, it was the night of the 29th, and it was time to get ready to go home. We had one last drink at the hotel bar and went to bed so we could catch our flight at 08:30 on the 30th.

In the short time we were there, we walked and saw a lot. Germany has an interesting history, and one many people are aware of. But during my time there, I never once felt out of place. I never once felt like anyone was mean or rude to me. Germany is a beautiful place to visit. While I only saw a fraction of what Germany has to offer, I would go back in a heartbeat.

If I Could Change My Past, Would I?

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been wondering about what I would do if I had a time machine and could go back in time. It’s quite an interesting question to give yourself. Would you tell yourself what’s coming? Would you not tell yourself, knowing that what’s coming could be good or bad? Would you go back at all?

I’m 31, and while I’m not exactly old, I’ve lived a bit. I’ve done things I’m proud of, I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I’ve done things I’d love to relive, I’ve done things I’d wish to forget. I’ve had my regrets. I’ve overcome those regrets. I’ve lived my life, and I’ve played it safe.

So, if I had a time machine, would I go back in time? The short answer: yes.

What advice would I give myself? That’s a hard question to answer. I don’t think there’s any one answer to that question. I wouldn’t tell myself everything to come. That would ruin the fun. But if I could say only one thing, it would be this, “While life may be difficult and it might suck, it will always get better. The rough times don’t last, and the good memories will always outweigh the bad.”

I wouldn’t change my past or try to warn myself of what’s to come. The reason I am who I am is because of the life I’ve lived. And as much as I’d like to live a different life, I don’t think I ever could. To live a different life would mean that I’m no longer me. I’d be a variation of me.

I’m proud of who I am and what I’ve done to get here. Life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. As long as we make the best of the time we have, that’s something to be proud of. Nothing will ever be truly perfect, but we can make moments perfect for a short time.

Pain Remains, But Music Helps

I’m a bit late to the party on this one. For the last few months, I’ve known of a band called Lorna Shore. I also knew they were deathcore, a genre of metal I couldn’t listen to. It was way too extreme for me. I first heard Lorna Shore in a TikTok video. I thought it was a video about Call of Duty zombie, but I found out that it was just the end of the song “To the Hellfire.”

Fast forward a bit. I still refused to listen to them, but that all changed in the blink of an eye. They released a song called “Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames.” And yes, it was very much a deathcore song. What’s interesting is that it quickly became one of my favorite songs.

Eventually, they released the other two parts (“Pain Remains II: After All I’ve Done, I’ll Disappear” and “Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire”). I listened to both, and I was hooked. The album, Pain Remains, came out in October, and I listened to it from start to finish. I’m not saying I’m a deathcore fan now, but that album was truly something special. It was definitely something I needed at that time.

It’s true, I can’t understand what’s being sung because of the screaming deathcore vocals, but I can read lyrics. And the lyrics are incredible. Mix that with some insane drumming and fantastic guitar work, and you have a killer album.

Pain Remains found me. I didn’t find it. It started on TikTok when I was scrolling. It was almost as if I needed to listen to Lorna Shore and that album specifically. I truly believe that I found it when I did because I needed to. It’s a very emotional album, and at the time, I needed an album like that. That album spoke to me in a way no album before it has.

I still listen to it along with their EP …And I Return to Nothingness. It was a combination of Pain Remains and the addition of Will Ramos (who I didn’t know at all before he joined Lorna Shore), which really brought me into listening to Lorna Shore.

As a result, I want to see them live. They are playing with Mastodon and Gojira this year, and that’s a show I really want to go see. I’ve seen both Mastodon and Gojira once already, and I’d love to see them again.

A New Hope

Where do I begin? Another year has come and gone. It doesn’t feel like 2023 is in a few hours. But here we are. Another year, another chance to be someone new.

2022 started of so well. I was in Colorado for a week, and it was one of the best trips I’ve taken. I had so much fun skiing and just not being home. In April, I went to Galena, Illinois. In July, I went to Michigan. In September, I made my return to Hilton Head, South Carolina. It was the first time I had been down there in about 20 years and it was amazing.

Overall, I did a lot of fun stuff in 2022. I’m truly grateful for it. But 2022 wasn’t all fun. There were things that really just sucked. As the year went on, it just seemed to suck more and more. And of all my resolutions from last year, I only kept two of them. They can all be found here for future reading.

So, what didn’t I do in 2022? I didn’t post two blog posts a month, I didn’t read one book a month, and I didn’t film any of my short films. Does this make the year a failure by itself? No. I just kind of wish I did more. I know I could have done more. I just didn’t feel like it.

I did improve my video editing skills. I edited countless hours of video in 2022. I also finished writing my movie. I didn’t specify what the movie was, but I’m pretty sure I know which one it is. That also means that I took that movie and turned it into a TV show instead. The idea works better as a TV show since there’s so much to explore.

I do want to do a few things in 2023. I want to read one book a month. I have so many books, and I just got five more for Christmas. I’ll keep editing videos. I also want to put a serious effort into submitting film scripts to contests. It’ll be expensive, but it’s something I need to do to get where I want to go.

I also want to learn to say “no.” I often agree to things because I don’t want to make people mad. Well, that ends with 2022. I’m going to do things for me in 2023. That also means I need to let the past go. I often look to things in the past or people, and it never works out for me. To go forward, I have to stop going backward. The past is set in stone, but the future is undiscovered. It’s new. It’s exciting. That’s where I should be looking.

2023 is a chance to start new. It’s a chance for me to be someone different. And I fully intend on doing that. I look around and see where I am. I see where I can be. I see who I can be. It’s time I changed who I am so I can be who I’m meant to be.