In twelve hours I'll be boarding the plane that will take me to DC for the very first time. I haven't been to the United States since before 9/11, and, in a weird way, I really miss it. I don't know if it's some form of escapism, but I can't help feeling the United States will be the place where Important and Defining Things will happen in my life.

Obviously, the first of these will be the Moot Court competition that starts tomorrow. I have been incessantly training and studying for it for six months now, and it's naturally become a huge part of my life, not only academically, but also socially; the people I've met because of the competition have become the friends I've always lacked in college.

During the next week I'll have the responsibility to stand in front of the judges of our make-believe Inter-American Human Rights Court and defend a State that allegedly violated the rights of a woman and her son. My main responsibility, however, is to not disappoint my professors, my team, my friends, and myself. I'll probably be the hardest to please, but I'll be happy if I look back on this experience and believe I did my best.

Wish me luck.

My birthday has passed, and it seems my self-absorbed, egotistic crisis went along with it. All I can say is: good riddance. I'm twenty years old now, and I've never felt better.

All is well at home, with my friends, my family, the girlfriend, and, in an interesting turn of events, with college. I know moments like these are fleeting, and so I'm seizing the day. Esther leaves on Friday, and from then on, it's back to my usual responsibilities. Only this time, I actually believe I'll be up for the job.

I've pushed it as far as I could, but it's now officially unavoidable: I need to start my research again. In other words: summer vacations have prematurely ended after one month. Now I need to breathe deeply and take the plunge; this is going to be a long, long semester.

What happened in the past weeks? I've enjoyed my vacations the only way I really know how: got addicted to a new series (How I Met Your Mother), watched again some episodes of old favourites (The L Word and Doctor Who), spent time with the girlfriend and with friends, drank a lot, and mostly stayed in. Apart from two incidental times I ended up going to the beach (one of them, though, was on New Year's Eve, so it hardly counts), I have been true to my geeky self.

Mostly Everyone that was in Rio for the holidays is now gone, and I'm left home with my still-injured cat trying to stop procrastinating. No need to say I'm not doing much progress at the moment.

Only one resolution for 2009: I will learn have a schedule. Even if it kills me. And, let's face it, it probably will.

Last class of the semester in an hour.

*pause for happy dance*

And now for the Big News:

You all know (do you?) that I'm currently working at the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), an NGO responsible for bringing forth cases to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Depending on a bunch of factors that I won't explain right now, the Commission, in its turn, may bring forth the cases to be analyzed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

So.

The Court is located at San José, Costa Rica. They are, however, having an extraordinary session on August at Montevidéu, Uruguay. And I'm fucking going to be there! I seriously cannot believe it. I am actually going to the see the Real Thing.

*pause for another happy dance*

On a sadder note, Fluminense lost last night. They did play brilliantly, though, and it was a total shame they didn't win the Cup. The comments that have been dripping off the mouths of a bunch of retarded people who root for my team make me rather ashamed of loving Flamengo. While I can't help this love, sometimes I did wish Flamengo's supporters would just shut the fuck up. "Liga dos Urubus" is one of the most retarded things I've ever seen.