Hey everyone, my blog is up

I'm not going to waste any time with introductions, since if you're reading my blog you either

a) know me personally

or

b) randomly troll the internet looking for semi-interesting travel blogs by people you don't know, in which case you are resourceful(creepy) enough to find out about me without me having to tell you.

So that brings me to the main point: why dare to blog, when so many have blogged and failed? I'll preface my answer by saying that I expect and fully intend to fail. There's almost no chance I keep this blog up for an entire year. But, more importantly, I decided to start blogging because I feel that, in the year 2011, I may have something interesting to share with the world.

Between my upcoming semester abroad in Paris, my long awaited and potentially world-changing 21st birthday, a hearty stab at getting an internship and real responsibilities this summer, and my glorious return to William & Mary and 903 Lafayette in the fall, I feel that I will have some experiences to share with the rest of the interwebs that are most likely already being shared by thousands of self-important college students that can't write for shit like myself.

Hopefully, what this blog will suffer from in redundancy, it will make up for with exciting and wholly fabricated anecdotes from abroad, crudely made MS paint drawings, and inside jokes that only I will get. So without further self-deprecation, let's jump right into the first blog post, which you probably thought had already started, making you question your commitment to reading this entire entry!

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So if you've been paying attention so far, you'll notice that the first interesting event and most interesting event of my year is my semester abroad in Paris, the city of baguettes. You'll be disappointed to know that my adventures in Paris sadly will not begin for another month. Why start blogging this early you ask? Well, partly because the anticipation and preparation for a month abroad is probably almost as interesting as the actual experience, but mostly because winter break is often excruciatingly boring and I have little patience for its lazymaking shenanigans.

So, like any good sports magazine, we'll begin the semester abroad blogging with a good old fashioned season preview:

Brendan Goes to Paris

Summary: Brendan Linard, fresh off five semesters with William & Mary, has signed a new, lucrative contract to play one semester for the Catholic University of Paris. This is a risky move late in his career, but many believe a change of scenery will be exactly what he needs to meet his limitless potential.

Outlook: Like everyone else faced with such an experience, I am unimaginably excited. In all honesty, though, I'm also a little bit nervous. Although I've lived in the shadow if New York City for nearly my entire life, I've never fully explored it, and have always been slightly intimidated by it. Putting me in Paris, one of the world's most vibrant, important, and immense cities, places me slightly outside of my comfort zone. This, though, is a challenge I'm willing and excited to face.

The program should certainly be an interesting one. Putting aside all the aspects involving study and life in a foreign country, it is looking like I will be the sole male in my program. This is certainly intriguing, especially since I've always been someone with many more close male friends than female.

Forgetting that for a second, though, brings up the experience of living in Paris. From what I know about the city, I expect every night to play out roughly like this:

7:00 PM: Gourmet dinner at five star restaurant with various supermodels. Gerard Depardieu picks up the check.

9:00 PM: Wine. Lots of wine.

10:00 PM: Head to the night clubs for some MDMA and electronic music.

11:30 PM: Free Daft Punk concert at the Arc de Triomphe. 3D glasses.

12:30 AM: Baguette fight!

12:45 AM: More wine.

3:00 AM: Wake up enslaved in Gypsy camp. Buy freedom with tales of adventure.

5:00 AM: Climb Eiffel Tower to check out sunrise.

8:00 AM: Croissants and cafe au lait at one of Paris's many famous sidewalk cafes.

9:00 AM: Class

So basically, Paris should be the most ballin'est time of all time, no barring of holds. Even if most nights don't play out like this, I still expect a great deal of fun, learning, cultural exposure, and the simple joy of living a foreign and new life.

Predictions: First place finish, best semester ever. Though there looks to be close competition from prospects fall and spring senior year. Keep an eye out.