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.