Blog: thoughts

2023 Year in Review

This post was written in en

photo of pablo

What a year 2023 has been! I've learned so much about myself and hit so many milestones. This will be my first year in review I ever post. I've written brief year in reviews on paper in the past. My year in review for 2023.

I started a Company

  • I filed and started my own company called, Pabs Tech, LLC. This has been something that had in the back of my mind for a long time. I only did very tiny projects with my company.
  • I'd like to have more projects where I can help others suceed in there projects.

Helping Friends

  • I started to help my friends build a small game.
  • Help friends with their projects.

Blogging

100 Blog posts! This blog post is number 100 for 2023. This is the most I've written on a personal site. I'm really proud of myself. This year I got back into blogging. I am so happy I did. I wrote a blog post on why I blog.

The IndieWeb

I joined the IndieWeb this year! I've meet some amazing people who have motivated me in so many ways. I find them inspiring. This is a great communithy to join. I only wish I would have done it sooner.

  • I got to meet up with an IndieWeb community member while I was visiting Los Angeles.
  • I've attended almost every Homebrew Website Club (remote) since March.
  • I started building an IndieAuth extension for Datenstrom Yellow

Podcast

Photography

I really explored photography and videography. I made some major leaps and bounds in both analog and digital photography. My camera visited new cities.

Outdoors

  • I've gone on 10 hikes this year! Darn it! I live in California and I should make more use of the natural facilities.

Traveling Around

I did some traveling this year. I've been telling myself that I need to travel more of the United States this year even if I have visited these places before. I went to new places in California and went to places in California I've been to in the past. I even went to the same place on the East Coast Again.

  • I visited two Buzzfeed Offices in Los Angeles and New York City.
  • I attended NYC Climate Week for the first time
  • I visited wine country for the first ime

Cities:

  • San Francisco
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Napa Valley (Wine Country)
  • New York
  • Oaxaca, Mexico
  • San Luis Reservoir, California

Things I have learned in 2023

  • I'm learned to start loving myself. I started going to therapy. I'm starting to unravel and start understanding why I've seen myself in such a negative light.
  • It's okay to make mistakes. Learning from them is key to improve.
  • Feel less guilty in enjoying time for myself.
  • Being active consistently is key. It helps me stay motivated knowing I don't always have to go hard. Consistency is key.

What about 2024 ?

I have a lot planned for 2024. I will continue to travel with friends but also go places on my own. I will need to go on more artist dates.

  • I'm planning to host an IndieWebCamp in Sacramento.
  • I'd like to run a marathon.
  • I'd like to learn how to dance.

Here's to a great 2024!


TrĆØs Loin de ma Maison (Very far from Home)

This post was written in en

Image without description

Intro

These last 5 months have been very exciting. I am very happy that I decided to study abroad in France! During the last few months I did not really think of my life or home back in the United States. I feel that I did that intentionally so I would not get so homesick. Iā€™ll admit, I do not call home that often. I probably worry my mom at all hours since I go at least a week or two without calling her. So far life has gone one. The feeling has been starting to lurk and now it is in full effect! Avoidance

All the methods I have used to not get homesick is finally catching up with me. Lately, all I can think about is my family, friends, all the big and little things we do not realize that make such an impact on our lives. Iā€™ve missed some important dates and I am still going to miss important dates coming up this weekend. Missing Loved ones

Iā€™ve been really missing my family lately. The feeling of your family not being around is starting to get to me. It sucks not having your mom, dad or sisters be there when you are feeling down but what can we do? I know the independence will help me down the road. On the contrary, I know family members, when you are around them 24/7, they tend to get annoying. Honestly, I miss the annoying feeling, seems weird. I would do anything to have even just a little bit of that annoyance. Family is important to me. Sure they will be waiting for me at the airport. The emptiness is really tackling along. sisterā€™s graduation

One of the worst things that is really getting me down at the moment: missing important dates. This weekend is a busy one, my youngest sister, Michelle is graduation high school. I feel bummed out that I cannot be present for graduation. Hopefully she can forgive me! I miss her the most! Just know Michelle, Iā€™ll be thinking of you on your big day and I got you a graduation gift that you will like!! Hopefully there is a live feed or something for me to watch! food

Traveling my whole life, I have never been afraid to try new foods. This is no exception living in Europe! Trying the new foods make me happy but at the same time because I know it will be a while until I get to enjoy them again. When I think of food, all I can think about how much I really miss my momā€™s food! It is not your typical American cuisine, but Mexican cuisine. I miss her delicious home cooked Mexican meals. One of her favorite dishes I truly miss, is mole tamales. I canā€™t wait to be able to stuff my mouth again! So much for losing weight šŸ˜› I am fortunate to have a mom that can not only cook Mexican food but American as well! I really miss eating at small restaurants as well as the big chain restaurants! I am honestly excited to eat at Panera once I make an entrance to Nebraska! familiar sights and feelings

Strasbourg has become my home away from home! I consider myself a resident of this town that took me in to become better at my French. I am happy I picked here instead Paris (dirty and too big of a city) to study. I would say I know this town pretty well. Even though I found my home away from home, nothing ever replaces your actual home that you grew up in! I know my bed is calling me to come back as much as I want to be back in it to sleep on! I miss the squeak spots in the floor. I miss waking up on the weekends and my mom would have food ready to eat, especially after a long night. Take that however you want! I miss Hastings, miss UNK and going shopping in Grand Island. I just miss all familiar sights that I was accustomed all my life! Conclusion

Homesickness has really hit me, I knew it was coming but I didnā€™t expect to avoid it for this long! Iā€™m okay with that! Never have I been so far away from home without family. Living on your own is life, it is now or never to experience it! I know when I get back to the United States, reverse shock culture will hit me (thatā€™s another blog post down the road) flat in the face the minute I get back in Nebraska! I do not regret being away from home, traveling in Europe has been one of the best decisions of my life!


Paris and Belgium: Weekend Adventures

This post was written in en

Image without description Being away from home these last few months have been great. I enjoy the freedoms, living independently and eating good food whenever I want. Life has treated me good here. Until more recently, a certain stage of being away finally starts. Lately, homesickness has really started to kick in. Iā€™ve really started to miss my friends, family and things I really took for granted back home. It really is bad when I am craving my momā€™s homemade food. (Mexican Food.) Midterms and all the studying is really killing my vibe at this point of the semester. My program is not your typical study abroad program that you go away for 3 months (not to mention that it doesnā€™t even apply to your major) on a semi vacation. I actually have to try real hard as my french studies here in Strasbourg France will help me graduate next year. Enough bashing.

With all this, one just feels that they are slowly losing control. Sure I am enjoying myself out here in France but still there is this emptiness of something that I have been away from for far too long. Hopefully, I hope some sort of enlightenment will come bring me back to life. Then It hit me, I would see my friends in just a few weeks. I honestly couldnā€™t believe in such short time I would be right in front of them.

So I would be meeting up my good friend Sammy and soon-to-be friend Mitch. They have never been to Europe before, so I figured why not show them around Paris, a city that I know decently and use my French to get to Point A to Point B and of course with the help of good olā€™ Google Maps. Paris- Weekend 1

These guys had a hell of a time getting to Paris during the 24 hours before arrival. Iā€™ll let them explain that one.

So I picked the guys up from Charles De Gaulle Aiport. I still feel bad on making you guys wait for me. :/ I ran up to my dude Sammy and gave him a bro hug! It has been way to long since I have seen that dude! I also got to meet Mitch and got to know him more through out the weekend. Cool Dude! So I showed them around Paris. To be honest, Paris is beautiful with history written all around. As with any major city, Paris is no exception, it is dirty and smelly. I really hope that the guys did not have too high of hopes for the ā€œCity of Love.ā€ Paris is overrated in my opinion but why not take advantage of leaving Strasbourg for a few days.

So we went to various monuments such as The Louvre, Arc of Triumph, Versailles and so much more. Many of the places were breath taking. The Eiffel Tour is always a good place to scope out as well as walking along the Seine River. Getting around Paris is no piece of cake but we managed. Never have I ever gone up so many round staircases. Climbing the Cathedral of Notre Dame was such a struggle. Whenever you are in Europe, walking is really the way to get around.

Night life in Paris is pretty popping! We went to a few clubs in the Grand Boulevard District! This district did not disappoint. I wish we could have checked out a few other ones. One of my favorite places was the Irish Pub. Music, dancing, girls and drinks. Man was that a fun night!

We ate some good food throughout Paris. The guys had their first legit French Croissants and baguette sandwich. Itā€™s totally acceptable to have a sandwich on you at all times. I also had them try one of my favorites, a kebab sandwich. Man are they delicious! Sammy had actual ramen noodles for the first time ever! Overall we pretty much stuffed our faces all weekend.

Bruxelles- Weekend 2

Ah Bruxelles!! The place known for its deliciouos fries and waffles. You have no idea how much I stuffed my face this weekend. Just writing this post makes my mouth water. Was eating all this food this worth it? You bet it was!! When I arrived in Bruxelles, it was gloomy and misting. Not the way I wanted to start the weekend. The weather stayed the same all weekend. That did not stop the fun. Image without description

Spending the weekend in Brussels was totally worth the waffles! The sugar definitely made me bounce off the walls. #belgium #worldtravel #unkstudyabroad A post shared by Pablo Morales (@pablo.morales1) on Mar 19, 2017 at 9:55am PDT

We checked out many popular attractions throughout the city. There was so much we saw, I started to lose my mind a bit. One of the coolest places I saw was a ā€œWorld Shop.ā€ They had souvenirs and artsy things from all around the world. I was so intrigued with the place that I ended up buying a few things from there.

The other purpose of coming to Bruxelles was to meet up with our friend Kellie and Sammyā€™s brother, Louis. It was good to see some other friends from back home. I missed those two! Kellie is just a keeper, to keep a long story short. These two are actually on Spring Break right now. I am so jealous of you guys spending your holiday in Malta! I hope you enjoy every second of it!

Bruxelles treated everyone well!

These last few weekends have been pretty awesome! It was good to see a few friends from back home. I couldnā€™t of asked for a better time. Traveling becomes more exciting when you are hanging out with people you know and love. I canā€™t wait for the next adventure with them! So, is it sprangggg breakkk yet? I wish!