Well, it's Tuesday which is one of my busy days. It's an all day event of school and then work from 8am to 8pm. It's not as bad as it sounds really. Class isn't to horrible most of the time and time does go by quickly. It's raining ourside a bit now but it's nice. I've been stressing out over an exam that I had last night (British Literature). I've never been one for English classes of any sort. I think I did alright though. I only hope that I passed although I would welcome an A (Dreaming here) or a B (Something hard must have landed on my head). I hope that all of you are doing well and that everything is going great. To my friends that I haven't seen in a while (you know who you are) I hope to see you soon. It many cases it's been to long. Well, that's probably enough rambling for one day by now right?

Chris

Well, Today I just got done with my exam in Operations Management 3315 but I'm not to sure how I did. I'm in between classes right now. I'm about to go to my next class which is International Business and Business Ethics. I've yet to go and buy groceries and run a few more errands. I have to do taxes too still. Wish me luck.

Chris

UPDATE: I got a 71%... Hey, It's passing right?

Well, I've been back for a few days now but the jet lag is still killing me. I keep on getting tired around 10:30 now if I'm at home. Its kind of annoying but I'm sure that with a few more days that it will go away. I've gone back to work and started to catch up on my responsibilities there too. School's back in full force with two exams coming up in the next week or so. I just hope that I can pass all of my classes, get registered for summer classes, and maybe graduate this year. I'm dying for it all to be over with. I have a few errands that I still need to run such as going and getting some more food for my fridge as well. I saw the movies Ultra Violet and V for Vendetta. I highly recommend them both. Well, I'm class right now so I should probably try to pay attention or at least look in the general direction of my professor.

Later,

Chris

Right now I'm onboard an American Airlines 767 headed back to Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas. After that it's about a 90 minute drive home to my own bed which I have been missing, along with all of my friends. Today started at 4 am local time for me. I received a ride from my Aunt Linda to the airport which put us there at 5:45 am to check in my bag and get my boarding ticket. My flight didn't take off until about 6:15 am so we had some time to grab something to drink and chat about when it is I can come back again to visit my father and the rest of my family. At about 6:12 I went to the security check point and gave all of them a hug good bye and proceeded through the line where, surprisingly, they don't ask for a urine sample. After being asked the same questions by three different people I proceeded through the metal detector along side my bag, coat, and misc. pocket change and contents which passed through the x-ray machine to my left. I made it to my flight with plenty of time to spare and boarded the German Wings (Yeah, I know, tacky name...) to London Gatwick airport.

We arrived on time where I had to go and pickup my checked bag (not by choice but it weighted to much) which meant I had to leave the "Secure Area" of the airport. As thoughts of more lines and questions like "Did you pack it yourself? Have you been with your bag the entire time? and Do you floss regularly?" went through my head I realized that I had about a six or seven hour lay over in London due to the time change from Germany. Germany is one hour ahead of London. So I went to the American Airlines Check-In counter but before I could even get into line there was a man at a podium on wheels that said security. He stopped me and proceeded to ask me more questions about my bags, nationality, and if I could walk on my hands while juggling balls with my feet. After that I re-checked in my bag so that I would not have to carry it for so long and proceeded to the 14 lane, 2 mile long line that is a security checkpoint at Gatwick Airport. That took a few minutes and again I had to strip off my belt, jacket, etc while saying the alphabet backwards. I then found myself in what I can basically describe as a shopping mall, and not an Air Port that is the North Terminal. If you can think of a store, they had it. I looked at a few things out of boredom and desperation for about half an hour and then proceeded to look for a place to eat. After digging around for about an hour I came across a place that had a manageable line (Star-bucks was out to the tarmac...). I ordered a Cheeseburger and Fries along with a Coke. Keep in mind that it is about 9:30 in the morning now too but I had failed to realize that until after my cheeseburger had been devoured. While sitting their I pulled out my laptop and proceeded to see what was there for internet access to keep me entertained, informed, and awake. As almost always there was T-Mobile's internet service which you could pay for by the hour. After about 8 seconds of debating if I needed internet, I paid the 15 pounds (28 USD or so) and got online for a total of three hours downloading things like video from the iTunes store and catching up on my news. Time flew by as I sent off a few e-mails and surfed to my hearts content until 5...4...3...2...1... off... I had run out of time online. Sad for me but oh well.

I went to my gate and waited outside yet another, yes another, security checkpoint. (Each international gate at Gatwick has another security checkpoint.) There were no employees at my gate, it was roped off so I found a spot in a what seemed to relic of a chair next to three others that were presumably going to wait for the same flight as myself. You actually have to go down one level at Gatwick to get to these gates so there are no shops, no vending machines, nothing... After sitting there for a while some employee's showed up at the gate with rolling podiums in tow that boldly stated that they were with airport security. A few minutes passed and they began letting people into the separate waiting are designated only for our gate after we had answered their laundry list of questions once more. I boarded the 767 with out fail as part of the last group.

Now after reading this, you probably think that I'm bitter or something. I'm not. I'm just having a little fun writing about my adventure which I would gladly do all over again if given the option. The experience to travel for two weeks, see London with my Mom and my step dad Lee, see my father after over six years, visit family, and go to CeBit are priceless memories for me which I captured in about 800 pictures; no kidding. Some are better than others but it's better to have to many pictures than not enough in my mind. I've gotten to see things and do things that others have only dreamed of and may only ever dream of. I cannot thank those in my family enough that supported this trip both financially and just by being there for me. I miss my friends and family right now as I'm on this flight somewhere over the Atlantic. I love you all and I will see you all again soon.

Now if only my bag that I checked in arrives in the same airport that I do...

Love,
Chris
(a little more broke but much better off for it...)

My jaw simply dropped at the vast scale and magnitude that is CeBit. Simply put, there is absolutely no way to describe it to anyone. You simply have to go and see it. It is on the scale of about 30 large football stadiums filled with the newest in latest in electronics weather it's communications like cellular phones or the state of the art in banking equipment. It is amazing. I saw everything from the newest digital cameras and camcorders from ever brand under the sun to the largest Plasma TV in the world from Panasonic. I took a lot of photo's but that just can't show you the scale of it all. It's a geek / gadget paradise. If it runs on power, it was there. Everything from light shows to beautiful women everywhere to grab your attention and pull you into their booths. Keep in mind that this show is full of new products and prototypes and not some place to go and buy them. The only people doing the buying here are major corporations like T-Mobile buying the newest cell phones from Nokia and signing millions of dollars in contracts. Being a buyer gets you into all of the exclusive places at the show. They will wine and dine you until you can't take it anymore just to get your order for their new products. It's the biggest in the world and that by no means is not an exaggeration. I'd love t ramble on more about these fun and shiney things but I'm afraid I'd be better off uploading some pictures later for you to see. If you want to check out their website go to http://www.cebit.de and do some digging.

Later,

Chris

Right now I'm on the train at 7am leaving Hamburg Germany headed towards Hannover for the day. I'm taking the ICE (Inter City Express) to go to CeBit (http://www.cebit.de). It's the worlds largest electoics show. It's huge. I'm afraid that I wont get to see everything that I want to see in one day but I am going to try. I've not had internet most of this trip which has made it interesting considering my addiction to a few web sites and my e-mail. It's been great spending time with my dad here in Hamburg. Six years away from him is to long because after all, he's my father and my family. I hope that I have the opportunity to write some more while at CeBit or after CeBit. Where I am in Germany is quite cold. It's well below freezing here. From what I hear, Hannover had a record low in the night that hasn't happened since 1890. So, you get the idea, it's cold. When I get back to Texas after my 22 hour day back on Thursday, it's supposed to be about 80-90 degree's. It's going to be an interesting shift not only in time but in temperature as well. I look forward to going home and spending time with my friends again. Well, I think that's it for now.

Later,

Chris

"Remember, You're always naked... under your clothes..."

Well, It's early morning and I'm listening to audio on my iTunes player. In a matter of one hour I'll be leaving for London but first I'm stopping by the grand opening of the third Apple store in Dallas. Think about it this way, I get to go to an Apple grand opening, fly to London, go to Germany, see my dad after six years, go to CeBit, etc... I'm so excited! I hope that everyone out there has just as much fun as I think I'm going to have.

Chris

Well, I just got done paying my bills and I'm running close to broke. I'm not letting that stop me. I'm leaving Saturday for London and then off to Germany to see my Dad. It's been around six years since I've seen him. I can't believe it's so close to when I get to leave and visit. I've been having fun and been relaxing a little bit. School is going alright but I could definitely be doing better. But then again, who can't? I have an exam tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. I don't have the books so it appears that I will be winging it (and I'll be praying too). I hope that all of you are doing well. I hope to see you all later and I'll do my best to keep in contact via e-mail.

Later,

Chris