You Don't Make Friends, You Earn Them.

Afternoon Bloggers,

I know it has not been bvery long since my last blog, but with the current roll i am on, i thought i would throw an entry in the mix which meant quite a bit to me.

Sat in a bar with 8 beautifu women as the sun set on another great day in Cadiz, i couldn't help but look at where i stand today, at what i have, and what i have become. It took my to wonder how i came to be so lucky? How, no why i had been given the opportunity to meet so many amazing people? And at how stupid i would be to let this opportunity pass me by. Making the most of every situation is very important to me, i believe life is there for the taking, life is there for living, and dreams, goals and ambitions are there to be reached.

Its been a fantastic week in Cadiz, along with the usual Uni based banter and boredom, the football manager escapades, work and wishy washy weather, we have seen so many people come and go. If I thought that i had met some great people already, well this week i have met a few more. Friends of friends brought in to fill the void left by the absence of Kate and Katie; Mairi, Kim, Charlotte and Jem. 4 beautiful and elegant English girls looking to thoroughly enjoy their time in this Gadetan paradise.

Of course i wouldn't be me if one didn't catch the eye! Rarely does at least one not catch the eye!! Who? Well all can be said is that; yes she was beautiful, however she was a bully (No James this does not mean she was a Female Rugby Player like your most recent conquest!!!!) and spiffingly annoying in equal amounts ;) How to overcome such obstacles?! Let Laurel and Hardy, the 'Ant and Dec' of Cadiz loose around her and watch the complexes blossom!! The bruises and wounds the result of a hilrious night in the presence of that bit extra 'Junk in the Trunk' and her sidekick Tinkerbell!!

Bruises how? Bruises and wounds from tumbles, thumps and trouble, of course all this can just be put down to one thing.... Friday night in Cadiz!

Friday night was chaos! Late starting pre drinks as we awaited the arrival of Sarah, Tash and their guests, perhaps we wouldn't have been crazy to think the night may have fizzled into a nothing night, and a hanging morning. However a bottle of vodka, visits to Persigueme and Origen later, La Punta time arrived, and just in time, the alcohol had more than hit the spot, Mat was on witty, charm-less, abusive, drunken form.

Saturday morning? A time to recollect. To regroup, recoup and revitalise. Also a time to look back at the night before and to think... where the bleeding helll did that come from. The graze on Tash's knee and bumps on Kim still remain an unsolved case (I plead innocent till proven guilty, i was falling and merely threw them to their safety!!!).

A hangover, beautifully awful meal and unhappy mood later came Saturday evening. A mere few hours ago from writing this entry i was walking along La Caleta beach front watching the sun set in the distance and in more than a pensive mood wondering simply..... how do i live here? Then came the bar situation, Cola Cao in hand i sat back and allowed the 8 friends to converse. All the time looking for inspiration for my next blog entry! Then inspiration hit me, the Iphone came out and the writing began.

But what insiration can one draw from sitting at a bar and being a 9th wheel? Well apart from feeling like the cheese and onion sandwiches at a grand buffet (left out if you didnt get that), the situation gave me time to simply appreciate all i have in life. I'm not a rich kid, i'm not a poor kid.I have no outstanding attributes or talents to shout about. I will not cure cancer and i will not become the prime minister. But what i do have, what i have that all the money in the world, all the talent or fame in the universe couldn't buy you, i simply have the best, no the greatest set of friends and family a guy could ask for.

What is most dear to me? Is it the Abercrombie shirt i wear or Aston Martin i one day hope to drive? Is it the laptop i write on or the blog i update week after week? It is not, they all ran a good race, but at the end of the day, when you strip life to the bare bone, when you uncover all the troubles, all the torments, all the tears and triumphs, the one thing that remains the constant, the one thing that is always there for you is your friends and family.

A wise man once said "Sometimes you pick your friends, and sometimes they pick you." It is the times when people walk into your life that you must cherish for it is "True friends who walk in when everyone else walks out." Why do i appreciate my friends so much? Well today that became very apparent to me. I appreciate them simply because they are there. Today, with all the talk of people going home to see friends and family back home and with people having friends come over to see them, i was hit with a sever bout of.... homesickness! A sad sight i was. Sitting sad faced and boring in a group of beautiful women, i must say my dad would be ashamed! But then as inspiration hit so did an improvement. I realised in that moment that

- the ability to laugh at Sam's ever impressive lack of common sense,
- the ever present chance to take a dig at Sarah's pretruding bottom,
- the fun that can be had by making a Kike joke,
- the hilarity found at some of Geff's english sentences and adaptation to our use of slang,
- the beauty found in the art of facebook raping Ash,
- the comfort of being at Kate and Katies flat even though they arent there,
- the haven found by abusing Tash's tolerance to BANTER,
- the brilliance in some of Mateo's one-liners,
- the chance to talk to the likes of James, Pieter, Zoe, Charlotte, Chris, Evans, Mellor, Simon, Luke, Mazza, Callum, Tori, Bekki through the miracle of Facebook chat,
- the opportunity to see the smile on my Grandparents or Dads face as they connect to me on skype,

These are the things that make me smile, get me over bad situations, and bring me to the realisation of one very important fact,

Friends are for life... not just for Cadiz 2010.

Happy Blogging :)