Britney Jean

 

In the spirit of water being wet, I wanted to share my take on Britney Spears’s eighth studio album, Britney Jean, and why I'm so pleased with it. Here's a non-exhaustive list of things I like about it:

1. "Work Bitch" makes me feel like I could lift a truck. Enough said.

2. "Perfume" is raw and vulnerable. Britney sings to a boyfriend about her jealousy over his ex-girlfriend to whom she fears she’s losing him. She asks herself “am I being paranoid? Am I seeing things? Am I just insecure?” and says in secret “I put on my perfume / I want it all over you / I’m gonna mark my territory.” Jealousy’s a sickening feeling, but I think Britney’s better off here than the poor girl who has to smell Curious and Midnight Fantasy all over Jason Trawick.

3. "Tik Tik Boom" (feat TI) is dancey, sexy pop Britney at her best. She's unfazed as she delivers the unapologetically sexual lyrics over a pounding urban beat. This is a total gym jam. There are plenty of pop artists and songs that shoot for sexy, but I think that Britney’s continued relevance is partly fueled by the fact that she does this effortlessly and much better than most.

4. I think it’s a cool surprise that Jamie Lynn, Zoey101 herself, joins Britney for a happy duet about their friendship and sisterhood on "Chillin' With You." It’s simple and happy.

5. "Passenger." This is the most lyrically beautiful song on the album in my opinion. It’s about finding someone who makes you feel safe enough to let go of control because you know you’re in good hands. She sings in one verse “I wanna see the world with you / Every step feels so brand new.” Then, in what may be the best moment on the album, the song swells and then calms into an echoed “This is living. This is living. This is living.”

I think we fans got our fix of playful, empowering, sexy songs with "Work Bitch," "Body Ache," and and "Tik Tik Boom," but what's more special about Britney Jean is that it's the most personal album she’s given us since 2004’s In The Zone. I’ve been fascinated by Britney’s persona as well as her personal story for almost as long as I’ve been writing my own. I look at her public life like a fictional musical loosely based in reality. I know little about her as a person, but this album seems to have come from a place of motivation and inner peace--more so than 2008's Circus or 2011's Femme Fatale. Britney Jean seems to have come from love, loss, interpersonal connection, and perhaps a new serenity. It’s warming to listen to a Britney album that means that the woman somewhere beneath my favorite persona must be happy.

Oh, and one more thing: happy 32nd birthday, ya old coot! I’ll always be listening.
<3 = :)

23 Photos of 23

It's November 6th. Esther tells me she has some "secrety news" for me. She tells me in confidence that Mish's parents are coming down to Málaga on the 14th of November to surprise her and that they're going to take the three of us on a trip to the north of Spain on the AVE train. Wow! The plan is that we'll somehow get Mish to the train station on Thursday night where her parents will sneak up on her, she'll freak out, and then we’ll all board the train to La Rioja. The 14th rolls around, and the train-station surprise goes off without a hitch. The surprise, however, turns out to be for me! 

We were sitting outside Taco Bell, supposedly waiting for the big moment when Mish's parents walked up the stairs, when Esther and Mish broke their silence. They both looked at me, smirked, and said that Mish’s parents weren’t coming at all. "We're going away to Madrid for your birthday!" they told me. I was in total disbelief. "I don't get it!" I kept saying. These guys had planned a whole weekend in Madrid to celebrate my 23rd birthday with me! Before I could even process what had happened, we were off to the capital!

Here's Mish, Me, and Esther pulling into Madrid. I'm excited and still in disbelief! What would have been a six hour bus ride took less than three hours on the AVE. (ave=bird; AVE = Alta Velodicad Española/High-Speed Spanish train)

Here are Esther and Mish emerging from the metro at the Puerta del Sol, where they rented us an awesome apartment for the long weekend!

 

There was trash all over the streets of Madrid due to a sanitation workers' strike. This was quite a sobering, impactful manifestation of the economic crisis.

Here are Mish and me at a cool little café en la Chueca, a hipster/gay neighborhood in Madrid.

We got much more than we bargained for when we wandered into a bar that bore my initials, LL, adorned with the flag of my people and an excess of Christmas decorations. What’s the worst that could’ve happened? This guy. “That is VILE!”  Esther repeatedly commented as he took off all of his clothes. Mish and I concluded that we wouldn’t have chosen the events that preceded this photo, but also that we couldn’t pry our eyes away.

 La felcidad es contagiosa :-) sí, lo es.

 

Lookin good, Spidey.

El Mercado San Miguel, an awesome indoor market near Plaza Mayor. It was filled with special artisan pastries, wine, sandwiches--anything you would've wanted to find at a place like this! Wandering around and sharing snacks was so much fun that we went back for a second visit.
   

Jamón serrano in the Mercado San Miguel. My mouth waters as I type this. I love cured ham!

 Here’s Esther and me in Starbucks! Cold weather, Christmas music,a big mug of americano, and suddenly it’s winter! Málaga’s only Starbucks is in the airport, and I believe the only other Spanish Starbucks are in Sevilla, Madrid, and Barcelona.

Autumnal beauty on the way to the Prado museum

Here we are at the Prado art museum, a good, free afternoon for anyone with a student I.D. The different works blend together for me after an hour or two, but it's impressive and you can't miss it if you have the time to see it while you're in Madrid.

 One of the world’s most famous paintings: Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas. How lucky was I to snap this bad boy? HashtagLasMeninas

 Vivian initially said that she'd be in Barcelona for the weekend, and was bummed that she couldn't go on Mish's surprise trip. She most certainly was not in Barcelona, and she made the long journey up to Madrid as a surprise so we could all be together!

Spain, init? 

 On the night of my birthday, we went and danced in a music video bar. Some favorites came on! It was so much fun!

 Gran Vía: a busy main street I once walked down with my parents and Joey!

I still don’t get this video but I have come to find the quotes funny. Old Greg has a small place in my heart because he reminds me of my old roommate, Lauren, who used to talk about him in her sleep and got his look down to a tee for Halloween last year. The entire sentence before this one is true.

 Elevator selves-ie!

 Birthday wishes from my friends online made me so happy. Sara sent me this picture of some of our memories together. I especially love the one in the middle, which I hadn’t seen! Those are a bunch of friends from the Granada program that came to my house in Santa Barbara on my birthday last year. What a nice memory!

As soon as my birthday surprise was no longer a secret, I became privy to Mish’s pre-surprise plans and journal entries. About me, she writes “He, being the tight-fisted yank that he is, didn’t buy it, having decided to sleep on it. What evs. Bought it today.” I guess I’m a tight-fisted YANK for not buying some clothes I tried on when we went shopping! Haha! That being the case, my sweet friends got me a vest and shirt they knew I loved on top of the overwhelmingly great birthday surprise.

 The AVE, that high-speed train I mentioned, carves through Spain at almost 300 km/h. We were back in Málaga in a snap, but not before they served us wine, a cocktail, a snack, and coffee! I've never been treated so well in transit!

Mom and Dad sent me a care package full of treats from home and an iHome. It might might not have seemed like a big deal to them, but I feel considerably more at home now that I can listen to music and sing along in my room. This little thing kicks ass! My roommates have welcomed the sounds of Bebe and Beyoncé coming from my room when I’ve turned this thing up.

What an absolute treat this weekend was, thanks to Vivian, Esther,  Mish, and everyone far away who made me feel special for having been born 23 years ago. It's silly to think now, but when I came here I didn't expect to have many friends by the time my birthday came around and NEVER could've expected a weekend like this. Thank you friends, family, Spain, universe for a beautiful 23rd!

Private English Lessons in Málaga

Aquí os dejo un vlogcito sobre las clases particulares de inglés que doy a lo largo de la semana.  Digamos que me pagan por mantener una conversación del ascensor con personas de todas edades :-)

Face, Mañana, Unexpected

Three nights ago, sitting at a bowling alley for a new friend's birthday, Esther, Mish and I each decided to pick three words to describe our respective experiences in Málaga so far. I've picked one from each of our lists to share below.

1. Face

Without too much thought, the word "face" came to me when I was fishing for words. Coming over here, for me, meant facing the consequences of my decisions, my curiosity, and my passions. As such, every time since I've been here that I've seen that "what have I done?!" look on my face accompanied by a lump in my throat, my response to the quivering young man in the mirror is "YOU WANTED THIS!"

Something out there awaits!

Here's the Feel Hostel, where I met my first friend! Kara, an auxiliar from Colorado, and I happened to be staying in the same room here while we got our bearings.

2. Mañana

Here's Esther  and me on the left and Mish and me on the right. We've stopped fighting the fact that these green walls are the backdrop of 80% of our photos.

If we only get three words, at least one of them should be Mañana. My friends and I have started to frequent this spot in town called Mañana Bar run by two Latvian guys named Eddie and Rob. It's impossible not to love this place. It's busy on weekend nights, but they also have things like Sunday barbecues and Tuesday intercambios (language exchange socials). Eddie always greets us when we come in, brings us chips with the drinks we order, and sometimes even brings us a free round. It's so much fun to spend a night there laughing and telling stories around a big table. One night, a big group of British travelers, some auxiliar friends and I played "Never Have I Ever" in a big circle. Oh my God. A few things that came up were so, so, so funny. Half of the time this game makes you feel like a good kid, then someone says something that happens to single you out and megalols ensue. What fun!

This is the first night we all went to Mañana, and the first time I met most of these guys.

3. Unexpected

I didn't expect there to be so much life on the other end of my trip over here! It's hard to come to a new setting with any kind of accurate picture in mind of what life's going to look like. I guess I thought my plane would just land on a map of Spain and I'd head for an empty Málaga. I'm so happy I was wrong!

I've hit the lottery meeting these guys!

Okay, so I did expect to eat the occasional tapa, but not with such good company. (Right to Left: Me, Mish, Esther, and Kara)

Here are Mish, Esther and me at the Alcazaba, a Muslim fortress on a hill in Málaga. It's a lot like Granada's Alhambra (or the Irvine Spectrum. Look! A Cinnabon!).

Setting up Camp in Málaga, Spain

Greetings from sunny Málaga! I've moved back to Spain for another year or so to teach English and, of course, improve my Spanish. I'm working as a North American Language and Culture Assistant (or an Auxiliar de Conversación) at a secondary school in a village called Álora, just about a thirty minute train ride from where I live in Málaga.

 Malaga's Cathedral in the city center

Málaga's located on the Mediterranean Sea in Spain's southernmost province of Andalucía, just about an hour and a half southwest of where I studied in Granada. More than 570,000 people call Málaga home, making it Spain's sixth largest city. A new resident myself, I get to look forward to a warm winter and bustling city life that never seems to slow down—except, of course, between 2 and 5 p.m. when stores shut down and people go inside for their post-lunch siesta.

I got to Spain one week ago today. Getting to Spain was surreal and exciting, because so much of it at first sight was like I remember it being when I studied in Granada! There goes a Yoigo store! A Corte Inglés! An Alimentación! I thought as I rode the bus from the airport to the center of the city. I cracked a smile as soon as I heard people on the bus communicate with thick southern accents and watched their mannerisms. A pleasant thought I had as I got to my hostel, enamored of Spain and running on adrenaline, was that this place didn't feel too strange because I'd been visiting it in my daydreams for months upon months. 

Plaza del Carbon, a nice little plaza in the city center where I stayed while I looked for a place to live

Here's 4 of the 6 beds in my hostel room. It was clean and nice for a hostel.

 It has been a dense week one in Málaga. Building a mental map of the city, house hunting, getting out and meeting people, and starting to work at my school have made seven days feel like a month. My friend Emily, who still lives where we lived together in Granada, came out to visit me in Málaga and help me set up camp. We had a little (a lot) of fun the night I arrived, then hit the ground running and started looking at apartments for me the following day. 

Tapas, light Spanish dishes that accompany drinks, with Emily on our first night out and about in Málaga

Time was ticking, my hostel tab was adding up, and every day I spent without a room of my own meant a half-satisfying shower and locking up my belongings every time I left my room. But by the firm advice of my parents and my gut, I did not settle on an apartment that wasn't right. As tempted as I was to live in the dark pile of concrete near the train station, in the city-center attic with the weed-growing older men, in the unkempt neighborhood west of the river, or with the woman who wasn't going to let me hang out in her living room/home office, I painstakingly did not settle. After having seen so many places, I was about ready to go up to any nice looking Spanish person and ask "Can I move into your house?" or "Will you live with me?" ¿Which is less invasive?

Well, that's just about what I did. In a moment of some kind of fate, I crossed the path of a young couple posting a sign that said "SE BUSCA CHICA PARA COMPARTIR PISO." Even though I'm not a chica, I asked them if they'd show me the room they had for rent. They looked skeptical, but they obliged. We walked over to their apartment and they warmed up to me as I told them what a chica I really am. I kid, but they really did warm up when they found out I American and gay—two cards I never expected to play in my favor! So, as it turns out, lucky piso number seven was the winning apartment. For the first time in my search, my gut felt right about the apartment, the people, and the location. My housemates, Dani and Andrea, are social, welcoming, and generous. They've already taken me to IKEA and shared food with me. Also important to me is that at home it's all Spanish, all the time. I'm so happy to say that I live with people I'm hopeful will become good friends.

My new digs!

I have my work cut out for me in order to make this place mine!

This part of the city center's about a fifteen minute walk from my apartment.

I've been spending time the last few consecutive days with a nice handful of people doing the same thing as I am in Málaga: living in the city and commuting to their respective schools to teach English during the week. Just like in Granada, the first time I've felt a certain kind of comfort here was when I really, genuinely laughed. Today at the office of foreign affairs, por ejemplo, some people I've been hanging out with and I got to laugh together at how confusing and disorganized part two of this student visa process has been. Long lines, unclear instructions, government employees with short fuses, and mass confusion...you know the story! Just picture a Spanish DMV.

Some new British friends, Esther and Mish, laughed at the dramatic art in my American passport today while I admired the likeness of Charles Darwin on their £10 note.

Of course I've been making mistakes here left and right. The other day I walked around the bus station looking for my train (a day ahead of time as practice, thank goodness!). Then there was Monday's email to the Ministry of Education with which I ended "mucas gracias." ...mucas gracias, awesome. Then of course there was the little train ride I took to the airport instead of Álora on Wednesday morning. ...I don't work at the airport! Ha, ha, ha. I was over an hour late to school, but hey, now I have the perfect story to use when I'm someday prompted in a job interview to describe how I'd deal with a situation where I knew I was going to be late for work. "Easy," I'll say. "I'd pop into an internet café, email everyone on staff and additionally call from Skype to say I'll be at least an hour late." See, I can already see how I'm going to draw from this experience for the rest of my life. :)

Here I'm about to get on the correct train to start my commute.

This is what Álora, the village where my school's located in the province of Málaga, looks like. It's a white hillside village with a population of only 13,400.

Really, though, doing things on my own hasn't been too hard. Mom and Dad's Skype calls and Emily's help have been godsends. Now that home and work matters are a bit settled, things should be smooth from here. Not one of my weekly responsibilities is too daunting, and things should get better and better as I build some friendships. A topic for another day will be what life is like at my school, but everyone there has been so sweet and incredibly welcoming! I'm looking forward to my first full week of teaching, and I feel like I'm in a position to really help and bring some fun into these classrooms.

Cheers until next time! Os mando abrazos a todos desde Málaga! (Sending hugs to all of you from Málaga!)

¡Me dieron luz verde!

This past Monday, I reported to the Spanish Consulate in Los Angeles to hand in my thick, meticulously filled out, obsessively proofread visa application.  It had taken me four months to get this appointment and the application process is a doozie, so it was a huge relief to hear from the consulate on Monday that I should soon expect my visa in the mail. I got the final green light! This means I can really be excited!

So today I bought my ticket to Málaga.

"Life is so good, it's sticky sweet. It's a carnival cotton candy treat. Unwrap it like a lollipop, ¡lick it! We got a one-way ticket."

Final Chapter of UCSB

Recent events warrant an update to this travel-live-love-eat blog!

Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson came to UCSB because we "demanded it" on a website called eventful. More students from UCSB than from any other university declared that we wanted to have the premier of This is the End at our school, so these guys came to our school and we got to see the movie for free. The most original, substantial thing I could think of saying to Seth Rogen was "you were awesome in Knocked Up," to which he replied "thanks, man!"

Here's Justin, Alicia and Lauren at our "ABC" a.k.a. "anything-but-clothes" party. Lots of fun!

Turns out, the base of the satellite chair isn't connected to the top half. You can see Lauren on the floor there buried under her computer. :) It's happened to all of us.

Here's the iconic Storke Tower surrounded by a bunch of rainbow flags in the grass during Pride Week at UCSB. UCSB's been a welcoming, loving, accepting place. Getting to live among things like this as a UCSB student made me very happy.

Cave exploration on the beach!

I was ecstatic to hear a few months ago that I'll be moving back to Spain in the fall! I'll be sharing what I can about North American language and culture with public school kids as an Auxiliar de Conversación in a village outside of Málaga. I'm very hungry for more España and I look forward to new adventures. Given the opportunity, it would be hard not to go back to Spain and to think that at 22 years old my greatest adventures are behind me.

I called Justin in a fit of flustered excitement when I heard that I'd be going back to Spain, and he was just as excited as I was. To celebrate that night, he took me to a tapas restaurant downtown called Alcázar!!! We had patatas bravas, tortilla española (Spanish tortilla/omelette), and quesadillas. This place was an awesome find! As part of the cool décor, they had the original black-and-white Frankenstein movie playing against one of the crimson walls. Spain and horror movies: the perfect fusion of our interests! More important than the food and atmosphere was the incredibly sweet gesture of support that it was for Justin to take us out for tapas that night.

In May, Jeff Bridges came to UCSB for a Q&A before a screening of Tron and Tron: Legacy in IV theatre. I would've felt uncomfortable getting any closer than this and asking for a photo, because I really didn't know who he was before meeting him. Justin, however, got a closeup picture with him, and Lauren was able to commend him for his continued support of local farmers by shopping at Plow-to-Porch.

Here's Justin and me at the Reel Loud silent film festival on campus, for which he'd spent all year working as the art director. Justin painted all the backdrops in the distance, each of which was based on a different Hitchcock movie. So many people got to see and interact with his art. It was an amazing display.

I had to snap a selfie during one of my last shifts at DLG so I'd have a little memento of the three quarters I spent there. I was more than ready for my time in the dining commons to come to an end, but I wouldn't trade the whole experience for anything. I made some friends, got to practice my Spanish, never went hungry, and met Justin at DLG. With that said, I'm glad this was one of those good things that did have to come to an end. I enjoyed parts of it, but will not miss coming home damp and achey, wearing that chocolate-milk-cheese-vegetable-ice-cream-cereal-meat smell that pervades the dish room. Peace out, DLG!

Studying with Justin was usually painless and even relatively efficient at times. :)

1. When Philosophy 1 is over, we'll never have to revisit these concepts.

2. Philosophy 1 will soon be over.

3. We will soon never have to revisit these concepts.

During spring finals week, the quarterly undie run came right through our street. Here are Lauren and Alicia spraying a bunch of scantily clad gauchos over the fence with the hose as they headed for the beach! What a scene.

We did it! My final days as a UCSB student were filled with the normal prod of commitment to my classes, but I also spent a lot of time reflecting on what it meant that I would soon be done.

I remember having three main fears before I got to UCSB:

1. The curriculum would be too hard.

Not the case! I was genuinely passionate about my studies, so doing well was not exceedingly difficult.

2. I would get fat.

The victory here lies in the fact that this old fear no longer requires any attention. Next!

3. I wouldn't make any "progress" on the gay front.

18-year-old Luc would be proud to know that this would one day be laughable.

"You know, I didn't use to be brave--In fact, I wasn't very brave at all. But you have made me brave, [UCSB]. So now, I'm gonna be brave for you."

You'll see.

Left to right, here's Joey, Lindsay, me, Justin, Lauren (poking me), Dustin, Alicia, Heather (Adam's girlfriend), and Lauren's brother, Adam.

To celebrate Lauren's, Alicia's and my graduations, Lauren's Mom threw a party at this house that they rented downtown. We all got to eat, drink, laugh, and get to know each other in this beautiful place for the night. This was the perfect celebration. Everyone got on well and I think we all had a lot of fun.

Panorama of the backyard - nailed it.

Here's Alicia, Lauren, Justin and me in my room soon before we all moved out. There's been so much shaytoonery and so many breathless laughs in this room! I fucking loved this house. I don't care how small our room and my bed were or how loud our door, the closet, or belligerent pedestrians outside were. I had a blast with these guys this year and this place was home.

Hasta luego, El Embarcadero!

We're all here <3333333333 >< >< ><

Thanks for the laughs and the sound advice whenever I needed it.

Well, now it's all over. What do I make of all of it? Sometimes it's hard to cope with the fact that some of the people and places that have been central to the life I love are now far away. It's an unfortunate trend that not every person that I come to love in one point of my life can have as strong of a presence in every chapter that follows. 

But it's okay! Because any important people and happy memories from the past are always inseparable parts of the present. I wouldn't be the same me without the formative memories I've made with the people who have touched my life in these past four years, who are now off on their own adventures. I figure they're like scaffolding; even if they can't be permanent parts of the structure I become, lasting parts of me wouldn't exist without their momentary presence.

Bye for now, UCSB. I'm excited for what you've prepared me for. I owe it to you to go live an awesome life.