didn't quite make it to vilnius...

i frantically paced back and forth looking for my correct bay as i stood in front of riga's crowded bus station. signs all in latvian pointed to cities i've never heard before. all i cared about was getting to vilnius. even with all of those strange dotted letters, i was still able to make out some of the cities; vilnius was being displayed at a later time. it was at that moment when i felt my heart sink. 
i instantly knew the huge mistake i'd made. i looked at my bus ticket and the departure time read 2:55. there was no pm or am because in the rest of the world countries use universal time. i knew that my ticket was long gone, but i still tried talking to the agent about possibly catching another bus. "this tiket, no good." the agent said with a lazy swoop of the hand. 

there was no point in arguing, all i could do was smile and walk away. i went back to my hostel where i was welcomed back with open arms. the next two hours i desperately searched online for other buses and flights to get to vilnius but all were either ridiculously overpriced or the timing didn't make sense. i opted to stay one more night in riga in the hope that lufthansa would still honor my ticket that originated from vilnius...not riga.
i slept for the next 15 hours on a empty stomach. i was on a strict budget so one more day of spending in riga was definitely out of the question. the next day i woke up and i headed straight to the fridge where i had my cold sandwiches ready. they weren't that great, but did the trick.
it was then where i met ryan, samantha, and this other kind man who i've forgotten his name. they were new yorkers who were also backpacking europe. we instantly hit it off! i think i had more fun in the three hours we hung out with each other versus the whole 48 hours i'd spent in riga. 
sammy kept bringing us shots of this medicinal herbal liquor that resembled jagermeister but with a much more bitter taste. after three of those shots, we headed to a restaurant where we had a latvian take of mongolian bbq. a few moments later we were at the bus station, the same one where 24 hours before i stood with a decimated look. it's crazy, i think i learned more about new yorkers in the few hours we spent together, than what i learned about the rest of the people of latvia. it's something that i'm not proud of but it's also something that i'm not ashamed of. we said our goodbyes and off they were.

now, i'm on a lufthansa flight a couple of thousands feet above eastern europe eager to see my kin, andy and phillip. usually i can go for weeks on these trips without being home sick, but the baltics has made me miss what i hold close. i cant wait to see them 

and again i find myself in frankfurt.

i'm not sure if i can describe the wide spectrum of feelings i've felt during the last 24 hours. currently, i feel exhaustion. didn't get much sleep two nights ago and i certainly did not get enough sleep on my trans-con flight with lufthansa. yesterday i awoke with the task of packing two weeks worth of clothes into one roller bag and a backpack. i gave myself a two hour buffer before my flight to san francisco. i made a quick stop to the bank but in between the car ride from my house and the bank, my debit card disappeared. luckily, by the grace of God, my friend Hugo a.k.a "juice" happened to be working. he's the bank manager so he quickly cancelled my debit card before a "paco" or "chuy" had the chance to use it. a couple of minutes later Hugo had a temporary ATM card ready for me to use. 
i made my way to LAX with a heavy foot. i got there fast but was stuck inside a shuttle bus for about 30 minutes, all thanks to the genius behind the wheel. by the time i got to terminal i had about 25 minutes before departure. i got through security quick, and made my way to the service center. breean was controlling the SFO flight, she told me that it was completely full; my heart sank.
the boarding agent was checking on a seat and it turned out that the guest was not boarded. and being that it was a little under 10 minutes before departure, i got the seat! i did get scolded though by my supervisor : / but either way, i wouldn't have been able to get the seat any sooner since they had to check if the seat was open. 
that was probably the most stressful leg of this journey so far. the SFO--->FRA flight was smooth. the agents were nice and gave me a seat as soon as i got to the gates. one thing about the A-380: it is huge! the seats comfortable, leg space generous, the food tasty. though the filipino lady next to me kept bumping my shoulders every hour leaving me in a perpetual state of half-sleep. 

well, i'm back in frankfurt. hopefully i don't get to spend the night here. if i do, i've already picked a great spot.