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Day 1: The packing was completed two days prior. In all, I was lugging around a huge hiking backpack, a huge duffle, a laptop case, and my camera bag. It was to my delight that the check-in line at the airport was ridiculously short. After all 17 of us made it through check-in, we all crowded our way over to security. The line was a bit longer here. I made it through no problem, however, a few of us got yanked aside for special screenings. We waited a good while for that process to finish.

O' course, we had the Duty-Free store to entertain us... Just imagine. 25 dollar bottles (The big ones!) of Grey Goose with no tax at all. Genius. Unfortunately, alcohol had been outlawed on this particular trip... (Didn't stop me!)

The unlucky ones walked up, their luggage now adorned with thoughtful little "Lufthansa Approved! Carry-On" tags hanging on them. The group of us headed out towards our terminal and the 10 hour flight that awaited us there. On the way, I made the best purchase of my life: a fifteen dollar neck rest. It proved invaluable.

We milled about the airport for the next hour or so, for our flight wasn't due until later in the afternoon. Eventually though, the time came for us to board. Individually we gathered up our carry-ons and walked down that tunnel into the plane.

Before I go on, let me say something. I've only flown once in my life. It was a trip to Tennessee with my Mom. I don't actually remember the trip.

So I suppose it was somewhat understandable that when this huge, two-tiered Airbus took off I started hyperventilating. My heart was beating, I was giggling like a loony, and I just couldn't slow that increasingly fast breathing. The rumble, the shaking and my own crazed glare towards the vibrating wings ended as soon as they started, thankfully enough.

The rest of the flight... was pretty good, actually. We were flying to Frankfurt, and from there a connecting flight would take us to Milan. Freedom Writers played... it was decent. Night at the Museum played after that. I just listened to music. We had a fun three hour night, and it was daylight after that. It was mid-afternoon when we arrived in Frankfurt.

In the Frankfurt airport our group leaders ushered us through security at a fairly brisk pace... unfortunately for us, this means they ushered us away from any and all substantive food. A McDonalds mocked us just on the other side of the Passport Security check. I don't remember what I munched on.

The flight to Milan was much easier for me than the flight from the USA. Takeoff was a breeze, and on the way to Italy we passed over a great deal of German countryside, as well as the famous Alps. Then there was Italy. Wow. Red, tiled roofs as far as the eye can see. I think everyone else fell asleep in that flight, but I was wide awake, sipping on a cup of bad airline wine and taking in the sights.

Landing was just as easy as take off. Just like that, we were in Italy.

T.B.C.

Movies:

Children of Men came out on DVD this last Friday. Go buy it. Please. Forget the Oscars, it not only deserved Best Cinematography, it also deserved Best Picture. It's one of the best movies I've seen, with very strong, life-affirming themes. Also, Clive Owen was great.

Music:

Modest Mouse is my favorite band, and they have been for several years. However, I'd only heard two of their albums, Moon Over Antarctica and Good News for People Who Love Bad News. I love both of these albums immensely.

They just released another album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. Another spot on release. Then a friend burned me Lonesom Crowded West (1997), and my love was reaffirmed. This is the best album I've heard in a long, long time. Holy crap I love this band.

Also, May 10th is going to be a great evening. I'm going to see Damien Rice in concert downtown. Oh man is it going to be awesome, his voice is amazing. Look him up sometime if you haven't heard him.

Men:

At the risk of offending people, I'm going to talk about this one. As some of you may or may not know, I'm a flaming homosexual. As all of you don't know, I'm going on my first gay-date ever tomorrow evening. He's a really sweet, romantic guy. All and all, I could do a lot worse for a first boyfriend.

My last relationship ended on a bad note, and my ex is (understandably) peeved. There were many tears when I came out to her and ended that particular lie. I don't exactly know what I can do to make that better, and it doesn't help that I work with her. She's fond of talking behind my back, now.

But oh well. I regret nothing, there's no way to 'soften' the blow. But she's definitely not interested in a freindship. So yeah. Agnostic, existential and now GAY. Holy crap am I going to hell.

I wonder if the fact that I'm wearing American Eagle will condemn me any further.

It seem like every journal I post nowadays is an apology for my dying interest in DeviantART.
I'll never leave, oh no. I'll stay here, posting a new deviation every few months. Much to wide a gap to appease current watchers, and certainly to much time to garner new friends.

So I give you this, nothing but the untarnished truth.

I will update when I want to show something. That's about that. I hope to get more of these somethings up here as the time goes by. School and work are nothin' but a bitch.

So let me indulge myself for a moment and talk about me. Hi, my name is Clayton Traise. I'm a senior at Providence Classical School, a Christian school that operates under the priniciple that the Great Books (Anything from Plato to Shakespeare's writings) are important for a good education. I'm currently agnostic, formerly a Lutheran. A good deal of thought and reading of said Great Books brought about this change.

I've applied to Texas A&M University. I'll be going there this fall for a History major. Pre-Law Minor. I hope to go to graduate school for a law degree. I have a girlfriend. Her name is Kristina Rodriguez, and she's great. She plays in the school marching band.

I'm a liberal now. Lot's of things have contributed to this change. The building of American prison camps. The push of 20,000 more troops into Iraq with no defined exit strategy.

I don't claim to have a solution. I don't claim to know what to do. I don't see any solution to the problem of Muslim Fundamentalism. All I know is that though there has been good accomplished in this Iraqi offensive, it is hardly enough to justify the deaths of the 53,583 Iraqi civilians reported dead. Or to justifiy the deaths of 3,020 U.S. Soldiers.

I suppose the final nail in the coffin came while discussing the war with a friend's mother. She expressed that the U.S. military should just carpet bomb the area and be done with it. I asked her, "What about the Iraqi civilians?" Her response chilled me. "If they're harboring terrorists, then they should die." Her callous disregard for the lives of innocent Iraqis- only a fool would claim that the majority of Iraqi citizins are willingly harboring terrorists- shocked me.

Though I strongly disagree with many stances the liberal party takes- abortion, primarily- I agree with it on many others. I support gay marraige. I support a withdrawal from Iraq. I support our right to privacy.

However, I do not support abortion. I do not support welfare, or any sort of move towards a socialist economy. I do not support the eradication of morality.

Most importantly, I've come to realize something.

I no longer trust authority.

~Clay.

EDIT:

Two movies: 1.)Children of Men.
2.)Pan's Labyrinth.

2006's must-sees.

I'm rather lazy, if you can't tell.

I've been taking many, many pictures, and yet I don't upload them! I'm despicable, truly despicable. Well hmm. Uploading a couple from a retreat my (christian) school went on this last week. Beautiful camp, and I got some lovely pictures that were all made possible by its pristine location on the Guadolupe River.

Work work work!

Poker poker poker!!!

School school school!!!!!!

Pictures pictures pictures!!!!!!!!!

Homecoming homecoming homecoming!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the inactivity- I promised pictures and such, but I've been having some internet woes. Currently at the library and mooching off of the colleges wireless network.

I've loaded all the pictures onto my PC though, so I'll be uploading some of them soon. There will even be a panorama! *Gasp!* The Frio really was a beautiful place.

Okay. I'm going to go do research. And stuff.

-ME