Hook by Blues Traveler

During my year in Spain, I developed all kinds of friendships with Americans, Spaniards, and other foreigners living in Barcelona like me.  I established a regular get together with several people and it was so nice to have something to count on and look forward to on a regular basis.  Dunkin Donuts for lunch, following by shopping with Elisa....Cafe y Croissant con Chocolate with Carla and Sara....lunches with Anhchi and Christy.  Today we are heading over to one of several of Christy's apartments for lunch.
We were making, or better, attempting to recreate something my roommate Dolors had made.  To this day I have never made it taste or appear quite as delectable as Dolors accomplished.  It's really a simple dish, packed with contrasting flavors and colors.  She started with rice and she tossed in a smashed clove of garlic.  She fried up some italian or pork sausage.  She then halved a couple bananas and fried them in the same pan as the sausage.  Finally she fried an egg.  Now for the assembly:  Stuff the rice into a small water glass and upend it onto a plate.  It should hold its shape.  Spread the sausage around the rice in a circle.  Place the banana halves on top of the sausage and finally, lay the fried egg on top of the rice.  Lovely, right?!  Serve with ketchup to taste and eat by smashing it all up and combining everything.
I can't remember the details of our cooking experiment that day, but I don't think it was a disaster by any means.  The song Hook came on (a cassette most likely as it wasn't a big hit in Spain) and there is this interlude in the middle sung very quickly.  To my surprise, Anhchi and Christy chimed in, singing every word perfectly.  Apparently they were very familiar with the song and had spent some time working on the lyrics.  Truth be told, I was a little envious of their skills.  I was also envious of their close friendship.  They were very close friends at UC Davis prior to coming to Barcelona and were constantly sharing hilarious stories from back home.  They never made me feel like a third wheel and I always enjoyed our lunches because the hook brings you back....

What's My Age Again by Blink 182

It was the morning of July 30, 2000.  I arrived at work in a great mood, it being my birthday and as previously documented, right in the middle of an epic summer.  I had several voice mails, most of them work related, but one decidedly not.  My sister had left me a delightful message.  She wished me a happy birthday, rambled a bit, and then queued up What's My Age Again.  She didn't have it queued up exactly where she wanted it, so there was a bit she did about "having technical difficulties" and there was some mumbling until the line she was waiting for kicked in.  The line was very appropriate: "nobody likes you when you're 23". It was appropriate because this was my 23rd birthday, NOT because nobody liked me.  To be clear. I must've played that message 10 times throughout the day.  I definitely played it on speakerphone to share with everyone else.  I was of course the person who got the most pleasure and amusement out of it because it was 100% Cato and I loved it and I love her.  She still calls me on my birthday every year, but no message has topped that one, when I was 23.

Maria by Ricky Martin

It was the last night in Madrid, culminating an unforgettable first week. The first week in Spain. The first week of my exchange year.  We were supposed to be packed and on the bus early the next morning to make the trek to Barcelona to settle into our new home for the next year.  I wanted it to be a night to remember....an all night long night to remember.  We returned to the place where we started the week which was a bar right across the street from our hostel.  We had met the sweetest bartender there, I want to say Carlos?   Maybe Jorge?  In any case, a bunch of us headed over to the bar for cocktails and dancing.  This incredible song came on and everyone hit the impromptu dance floor.  Un dos tres!  Un pasito pa' adelante Maria! Un dos tres! I really only understood "un dos tres" and "maria", but those parts of the song I sang with gusto.  I moved my hips.  I danced with abandon.  I was 20, blonde, thin, and living it up in Espana!

At some point in the evening we ended up in another bar that had more of a nightclub vibe.  The bartender was with us, along with some other guys from our hostel. Thinking back now I think it was actually a dorm and these were students. It doesn't really matter.  We danced, drank, flirted, and practiced our Spanish until the bar closed and the sun was starting to come up.  Yet I did not want the night to end.  I remember going back to the dorm to quickly pack up all my things and hurry back to another's dorm room spend the last few minutes in Madrid with a beautiful Spanish boy.  It was a night to remember.