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Lately I have been up to a lot of plans that are focused in the city despite the intense heat. Usually by this time of year I organize a camping trip like I did last year or something of the sort but it has been just to hot to plan anything real! We are at the point of summer in which I get to sleep in but still get a lot of stuff done and get to see friends everyday. I will get to that in a minute, but I first wanted to blog about the State Department and ask a few questions for anyone reading this.

Ok, so the prices to renew and apply for passports went up a whopping $35 a few weeks ago. To beat the rush of the crowd and the ungodly raise in price, I went to the post office early to get it out of the way. Backstory: I got my passport when I was 15 to go to Europe, so I was under 16 then. Therefore, my passport only lasted for 5 years before I had to get a new one. So I went down to get a new one to find the lines crowded with people trying to do the same as me. It is my own fault because my mom has been telling me for months to renew it, I was just lazy. So I went and got it done after waiting in line for 2 hours with an interesting Taiwanese woman and a couple from Massachusets. There, it had been settled and I thought it was over. Just my luck, two weeks later I got my passport back with a letter saying I filled out the wrong form that their own postal employee told me to fill out. So now I had to go all the way back and do it all over again, this time with the additional price to the State Department, who decided to raise them for no particular reason or statement. Great, but at least now I have a passport and the money went to something constructive rather than something stupid like a ticket from an irate cop for going 45 in a 40 zone.

Anyways, I was pretty worked up about the ridiculousness of that situation so I put it into our radio show: www.thebadradio.com . You should all listen to it if you want to, because so far it has been a hit back home and even for some people who dont know us. Yesterday, I was hanging out with my friends Colin, Adam, Bri, Cynthia, Casey and Michael and they were excited about it, saying that the Fired Up topic part of the show was their favorite. I dont want to use this blog just to promote our show but it is really exciting for the three of us. After I hung out with them yesterday watching Kung-Fu Panda, something I had never seen before, I went to a BBQ for many past alumni of my graduating class. We are all friends so it was a lot of fun to see everyone again and to talk to them. It was particularly fun to talk with some of them, Julia, Alex, another Alex and Luke and discuss how backwards things had become to our old middle school, where legends of the irate tiny teachers and super strict history buffs have been floating around the city for decades. It was fun to laugh at the old times and reminisce on our old classmates and teachers.

(L-R), Bryce, Alex, Brian, Me, Chine, Alex and Brandon

After the barbeque, I went home to meet up with my friend Bobby and his cousin from Virginia, Aaron. Our plan was to spend the night at my house and go hiking at Sabino Canyon early the next day, although our plans were mixed up a bit. It is always a riot when Bobby comes over, so it was a lot of fun to see him again and to get to know his cousin who is really cool and going to the University of Virginia next year. It always is interesting to meet people who go to different schools because I think it gives you a different perspective of how people think and about how they are learning their different majors. Anyways, it was fun to hang with them and while Bobby slept through the night, I got to play Monopoly with Aaron and lost, and then because Bobby was so content sleeping, we went on the hike and left him in the room, although he doesnt believe that we actually did it. I feel kind of bad, but I didnt want to wake him up so rudely. We got back before he woke up and so I guesss there was no harm done, we forgot about it over some fantastic blueberry pancakes that my Mom made and then it was time to get all my work and errands done for the day. So yea, thats what I’ve been up to lately, I cant wait to start recording our 6th Bad Radio episode tonight with our very special guest, Alex Rowe, and musical guest, Luke Cuffe, both of whom I have known since kindergarten. Also, I cant wait to get back to ERAU and hang with my friends there because I really miss most of them! Most.