I think I am going to try blogging more often now (not too hard seeing as it had been months between blogs), but i want to incorporate the share feature of bandcamp from the previous post. So now when I blog, I will put a song that I found by chance and liked at the end of each post. This one is simple because I dont have much to say at the moment, but I did have a small quote as I was drawing in the dark a few days ago that I will write.
"The entire last month, I have been a mask. Lindsey Lee Wells thinks she is full of shit, I have perfected her art."
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Awesome Song
So, I actually found the first song because of Like Totally Awesome (a Phillip DeFranco side project) that is based on "The Quad." It is made up of four different videos that you can choose to watch, mostly about video games or movies. After you watch, you vote on your favorites and they have the possibility to return the next episode. Its a great way to have user generated content geared towards the target audience.
These songs on the other hand come from an excellent website called bandcamp. They let bands sign up and upload their music/cds to the site, people can then preview the songs and buy them in a bevy of file types (as opposed to buying the DRM locked stuff from Apple). You can also share a song in a few different ways, and with some of their new and great looking visualizations (move your pointer away from the share box to see them). The rest of these songs were found completely by chance and by browsing the artists page on bandcamp (it is a ton of stuff to load so it may take a minute or two to load).
These songs on the other hand come from an excellent website called bandcamp. They let bands sign up and upload their music/cds to the site, people can then preview the songs and buy them in a bevy of file types (as opposed to buying the DRM locked stuff from Apple). You can also share a song in a few different ways, and with some of their new and great looking visualizations (move your pointer away from the share box to see them). The rest of these songs were found completely by chance and by browsing the artists page on bandcamp (it is a ton of stuff to load so it may take a minute or two to load).
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Six Flags: Candy Mountain
My neck hurts now, but only when I extend my neck and look up. Yesterday was a great trip to Six Flags on a near perfect day: cloudy and cool, neither too hot nor too cold, and lines took no more than fifteen minutes to get front seats. We left for our trip around 6 and went to Starbux where all three drinks were made wrong (one with whip when ordered without, and two with some obscenely burnt coffee), but that didn't get us down or ruin the trip. After a massive game of unorganized leap frog with many cars and the beast struggling over the grapevine, and the world's creepiest guy ever (his car had many satan on board stickers, skull decorations, minnie mouse dolls, and some awful women's over-sized sunglasses), we made it to the park before it opened. With the extra time we decided to go to Albertsons and find breakfast. My breakfast consisted of some delicious goat cheese with garlic herb foccacia bread, before being dropped off at the gates to buy tickets.
We started our first circuit by skipping X2 the first time around and instead starting with Tatsu, twice actually. Tatsu is such and epic rollercoaster, the flying position through twists, turns, flips is amazing and feels much longer than most others in a very good way. Oh, the front flip might be the single most exhilarating experience imaginable, its a HUGE flip, one that is the most enjoyable part of the entire park for me. The only downside to the entire ride is waiting to be let off the ride you are stuck in the flying position for a small time and its not the most comfortable. From there we went on to Deja Vu, which is the one ride that scares the hell out of me no matter how many times i ride it. The beginning of just completely vertical hanging until dropping at the speed of light, flipping and spinning faster than you can even keep up with before being pulled up backwards and making the same drop and doing everything in reverse is just killer. We settled ourselves down by riding Terminator the Ride, which is no walk in the park itself. The ride seems much more chill and easy when the first drop doesnt seem to happen, but dont be fooled, just around the corner is a nice sized drop and some speed. Flying through the waiting area is a really cool feature and all the tunnels make for a nice ride. The only complaint was that the speakers in the carts were not so wonderful and not equipped to handle the bass in the into music. With our newly settled brains and bodies, we adventured to Riddler's Revenge, which apart from the uncomfortable seat, is a good ride for flipping in an inventive way to ride. Standing throughout the ride lets you feel a bit more free while you can bed and straighten your legs to make you feel more in control. We stuck with the comic theme by going over to Batman which is an under-appreciated ride, it is very short and over quickly, but is full of thrills, mostly after the slowdown. After the platform to slow your speed slightly you go through two corkscrews and then fly through a much tighter one that is amazingly fast and powerful. Riding this twice in a row is the way to go, with no one in the queue, we were able to repeat it back to back making it the length of most other coasters. We followed the circle around to Scream! where the "M" flipscrew is quite impressive, you go vertical expecting a backflip, but at the peak you make a small turn, and turn again before making the downward finish of the flip, making an "M" shape. Its a fast, thrill packed ride, but must have mind erasing powers, because its hard to remember what happened after you're done. Our next stop was Goliath, and after a small break to let our brains re-center in out skulls, we made the trek to the line. The extremely huge drop is a major attraction to this ride, and it fulfills its guarantee of being more than ridiculously high. After the drop there are some nice turns and drops before you slow and make a very dangerous feeling hanging turn and going through two circles with tremendous G's.
Afterwords we left the park to get some lunch and take a nap in the van (the Albertson's shopping center was very handy as it contained both a Panda Express and Subway to accommodate everyone). We returned to the park and started by going straight to X2. In the realm of epic ideas for roller coasters, This one pushes the limits of what should be allowed before minds explode in its awesomeness. There is nothing more intensely ridiculously amazing than X and its update to become X2. The idea is unfathomable, a great roller coaster if you were stationary the entire time, made even more ludicrously mind bending by having a seat that can rotate 360 degrees foreward and backward. To describe what this is like is nearly impossible, i couldn't even begin to guess what actually happens to you throughout the ride, all i know is that the audio in the beginning of the ride is hilarious (but needs to have the counting before the drop to be changed into "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor"). After that,there are a few things that you can actually comprehend: this is the greatest feeling you have ever felt, the fire was a great blast of heat, and the sadness that it ended. Its also nice that the seat cradles you in a very comfortable position while you wait to get off the ride. This had completed the entire Thrill ride circuit through the park and we made the decision to repeat our favorites. We re-visited Goliath, Deja Vu, (settled down again with Terminator) Tatsu three times in a row, then finished on X2 to finish the night. It was an unbelievable day in the park for a great price (half price coupons made it wonderful).
We started our first circuit by skipping X2 the first time around and instead starting with Tatsu, twice actually. Tatsu is such and epic rollercoaster, the flying position through twists, turns, flips is amazing and feels much longer than most others in a very good way. Oh, the front flip might be the single most exhilarating experience imaginable, its a HUGE flip, one that is the most enjoyable part of the entire park for me. The only downside to the entire ride is waiting to be let off the ride you are stuck in the flying position for a small time and its not the most comfortable. From there we went on to Deja Vu, which is the one ride that scares the hell out of me no matter how many times i ride it. The beginning of just completely vertical hanging until dropping at the speed of light, flipping and spinning faster than you can even keep up with before being pulled up backwards and making the same drop and doing everything in reverse is just killer. We settled ourselves down by riding Terminator the Ride, which is no walk in the park itself. The ride seems much more chill and easy when the first drop doesnt seem to happen, but dont be fooled, just around the corner is a nice sized drop and some speed. Flying through the waiting area is a really cool feature and all the tunnels make for a nice ride. The only complaint was that the speakers in the carts were not so wonderful and not equipped to handle the bass in the into music. With our newly settled brains and bodies, we adventured to Riddler's Revenge, which apart from the uncomfortable seat, is a good ride for flipping in an inventive way to ride. Standing throughout the ride lets you feel a bit more free while you can bed and straighten your legs to make you feel more in control. We stuck with the comic theme by going over to Batman which is an under-appreciated ride, it is very short and over quickly, but is full of thrills, mostly after the slowdown. After the platform to slow your speed slightly you go through two corkscrews and then fly through a much tighter one that is amazingly fast and powerful. Riding this twice in a row is the way to go, with no one in the queue, we were able to repeat it back to back making it the length of most other coasters. We followed the circle around to Scream! where the "M" flipscrew is quite impressive, you go vertical expecting a backflip, but at the peak you make a small turn, and turn again before making the downward finish of the flip, making an "M" shape. Its a fast, thrill packed ride, but must have mind erasing powers, because its hard to remember what happened after you're done. Our next stop was Goliath, and after a small break to let our brains re-center in out skulls, we made the trek to the line. The extremely huge drop is a major attraction to this ride, and it fulfills its guarantee of being more than ridiculously high. After the drop there are some nice turns and drops before you slow and make a very dangerous feeling hanging turn and going through two circles with tremendous G's.
Afterwords we left the park to get some lunch and take a nap in the van (the Albertson's shopping center was very handy as it contained both a Panda Express and Subway to accommodate everyone). We returned to the park and started by going straight to X2. In the realm of epic ideas for roller coasters, This one pushes the limits of what should be allowed before minds explode in its awesomeness. There is nothing more intensely ridiculously amazing than X and its update to become X2. The idea is unfathomable, a great roller coaster if you were stationary the entire time, made even more ludicrously mind bending by having a seat that can rotate 360 degrees foreward and backward. To describe what this is like is nearly impossible, i couldn't even begin to guess what actually happens to you throughout the ride, all i know is that the audio in the beginning of the ride is hilarious (but needs to have the counting before the drop to be changed into "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor"). After that,there are a few things that you can actually comprehend: this is the greatest feeling you have ever felt, the fire was a great blast of heat, and the sadness that it ended. Its also nice that the seat cradles you in a very comfortable position while you wait to get off the ride. This had completed the entire Thrill ride circuit through the park and we made the decision to repeat our favorites. We re-visited Goliath, Deja Vu, (settled down again with Terminator) Tatsu three times in a row, then finished on X2 to finish the night. It was an unbelievable day in the park for a great price (half price coupons made it wonderful).
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Feelin' on Your Blog-What?
So this blog has been more than neglected because it started turning into whiny, emo drivel instead of something worth wasting time on. So here is an overall update on life since Friday, May 15, 2009 and a few good stories that need elaboration.
Well sitting here,i cant really think of much that happened between May 15th and June 10thish or so, I'm going to start there. Early to mid-July was spent in the SC area for The CCCCm 2009 which started off with a big bang. The night before Bishop (Barney) and my departure date, we helped the CCC pack up everything ever and load it into a truck. Things put in to the truck include but are not limited to: Fourty Bajillion Ping Pong tables, Sixteen dozen basketball hoops, ninety seven and a half plants, and one gondola (yes, the boat). This was all done working for a man that primarily spent his time sitting and talking on a cell phone while four adult males attempted to pack up an entire office and their random junk into his moving truck. this job went on from about five in the afternoon until about three in the morning while sweating profusely in the 90 degree heat. After that we went to Bishop's abode, showered, drove to Winco, bought food and survival supplies that we barely used, and headed down south to the coast. After arriving at nearly eight in the morning, we unpacked and moved in to the canvas tent situated on a vent from the underworld. We didnt sleep after arriving, that is for sissy girls, we went to work immediately to prepare for the upcoming week with a few friends and our boss. We stocked bathrooms and then attempted to set up an inflatable contraption created by none other than Satan himself. It was a hundred and fifty pounds of vinyl and there we two of them. after assembling enough carpets and tarps to cover the rocky ground and protect the inflatable, we began inflating, and by inflating i mean overloading the circuit. This was all done in the hours of the most sun, making an exhausted person nearly useless. One of us was too much of a sissy to handle it and went to take a nap for a few hours while I (whoops, I mean) the other worked like a man. After solving all electrical problems, and inflating both pieces, we were told to take them down because an RV would be filling the space we were using. That means that after hours of effort and work would be succeeded by hours of effort and work to undo everything we did. It was fun, let me tell you. I laid on a table under a tent to rest my entire body and ended up falling asleep for about 10 minutes while no work was accomplished. That was day 0-1. The rest of CCCCm was spent cleaning bathrooms from about 9pm - 2am, and being the faster half each night, no matter what half we did. It was exhausting but fun, and much better in terms of cleanliness compared to last year. Apparently people we civilized and learned not to be disgusting animals. It was a good time being back with the crew and listening to Flint Fletcher talk while we worked. It was a generally enjoyable experience and Barney even took the big dunk while there. I also made a new friend, a very unlikely pairing between Rally and I, mostly because I hate his kind, but somehow the little Rosy Boa charmed me. I also was part of a few puzzles, something I haven't done much of, but was nice and relaxing. 11 days after arriving and countless hours of lost sleep later, we were packing up and heading home.
The next large event was something that had been occurring before, during, and after CCCCm and that would be the separation of my parental units. After many ups, downs, lefts, and rights,it was decided that I would be moving out of my house and into an apartment with my Faj. It was new and exciting and general change to the south to the north of the same exact street. The place is real nice and i feel much better about this place after CCCCm and the events that transpired and have continued since returning, but its all good. Its nice having a pool right by the place, but the late night pool parties sometimes get a bit rowdy and loud, and having people on the other side of the bedroom wall is something to get used to, but they are minor concerns. Life is different, but different is not all bad.
The newest beast has now started, and that would be school. Its now week three of the semester and I have been added to all but one class so far. This is an amazing statistic considering that I am/was crashing 20 units or 6 classes. 5/6 in a school of 30k students and more than half crashing most classes, i can be called lucky. Its even more staggering when 4 of the classes are GE courses that are part of the required courses for anything. I am very much enjoying this semester so far, even though its nearly double the biggest course load i have ever taken. My schedule and feelings on each subject is as follows: (MWF 9-9:50) History 2 - Western Civ. from 1685 - Now. The teacher is able to lecture in a way that does not bore the snot out of me, even though i generally dont find history interesting. He seems to love the subject and had visited many of the places we talk about, with pictures from those experiences. (MWF 10-10:50) Political Science 2 - General Political Science. This is the best professor i have had for polisci thus far, although i have never had one for more than a few weeks every semester. Instead of being very dry and dull, or sweating profusely in clothing too tight for his body, or having a thick Indian accent, he is very good lecturer and makes things more real and interesting. (MW 11-12) Break - Homework period for... (MW 12-1:15) Marketing 12 - Advertising. This may be the easiest and most enjoyable class I have. It makes me want to be done with school and doing my ultimate job even more, and it doesn't hurt that the professor doesn't lecture much and instead spends most of class discussing advertisements and fresh new ideas. (MW 1:15-7am and F 11-7am) Go home and recover for the next day. (TTh 9-10:40) Math 4a - Trigonometry. This is pretty much how it sounds, with a professor that tries to lighten everything up by making really bad jokes and speaking as if he is the class. (TTh 11-12:15) Psych 2 - General Psychology. This is possibly my least favorite class because I had previous experience with the professor, she teaches human sexuality, a class i could only survive a few weeks of before being so repulsed that i had to stop attending. She looks much like the old medicine man in many Native American tribes, and dresses far below her proper age bracket. But Alyx (Robin) in also in the class and has a seat, while i sit in the aisle next to her. Its also the only class i have yet to receive an add slip for. (TTh 12:15-2) Break - Lunch/Studying with both Alyx and Melissa. (TTh 2-3:40) English 1a - Reading and Comprehension. Its probably going to be the reason I wont blog much, every class there is at least one free write and more writing in groups, and thats before any papers have been assigned. It will be nice though because our novel this semester is Fight Club which will be a blast to read. (TTh 3:40-7am) Go Home and recover to start all over again. 20 units doesn't seem quite as daunting as i have made it out to be in previous semesters.
Now for the most recent and juiciest event that has happened is a long story, so go get something to eat and drink, maybe a quick nap after all you've already read and i will wait patiently here until you return. By wait patiently, i actually meant "go eat a delicious Chipotle BBQ Double Cheeseburger and cross-cut fries." Now that we are all satiated, its story time. It starts in the way that many do, I was over at Bishop's house preparing to take off for the Bay Area and his old stomping grounds and being just hungry. We went to a laundromat to dry his family's clothes, and decided to go in search for food. The idea of Indian came up when a vegetarian Indian place was right around the corner, we made our way over there and found that the cooks were on break and we could only get three of the items (meaning it was stuff sitting around vats, just waiting to be slopped into dishes to be served) and we decided against it. We went back towards the laundromat and found the Taj Mahal, another Indian place that is non-vegetarian with a black man that led us inside and actually recommended that we go to the other place for vegetarian food. Long story short, it was delicious. Garlic Naan, Onion Kulcha, and Navratan Korma, and the lentil dish that Bishop ordered (mine was better and had much more depth of flavor). We finished and walked by an Indian spice store when we got a free deep fried something that had a nearly honey-like liquid center, then grabbed the clothes and went back to his house. When we got back, his brothers were watching David Blaine and Criss Angel and talking about how phony and evil they were. We then decided to participate in CA's levitate the viewership through a television, to which i joked and sadly did not levitate. This was my downfall, my disbelief in Criss was a huge mistake, it led to the destruction of my phone. I tried to text after not levitating and my 5 key no longer worked, i could not use JK or L, and those are pretty necessary to spell "will." I closed my phone and tried again, of course it didn't work. I turned it off and turned it back on and all that showed up were the words "You should've believed, Bitch! - Criss Angel." Ok, so it actually was trying to download an update a froze in the middle of it, making my phone effective as as a paper weight or crime deterrent, and nothing else. We leave his house and start on his way with plans to stop in Motown at the mall to find a Verizon store to fix it. We get to the mall and find the first Verizon where there was no Tech Department and was only directions to the Verizon that can actually help with my problem, on the other end of the mall. I am walking fast because Motown in general gives me an uneasy feeling recently, just full of too many memories to be comfortable with, and finally made it to Verizon II. I walk in and show them my issue to which i heard "That's really odd, I've never seen that before." Salesman brings me to the counter to see what can be done, it was out of warranty and i didn't have my own upgrade to use, but i got him to talk to his manager before trying to sell me a brand new phone for some outrageous sum of money, and he came back to tell me that what happened was a "warranty exception." In other words, what happened was so outrageous that they have never seen it before and is therefore not my fault. The problem is that it would cost me $50 to get the replacement. That's at least better than the hundreds a new phone would cost (and was refunded to my account by my step-dad). I take my new phone with zero contacts because the old phone was effectively an expensive brick now and could not have anything transferred from it, and walked to the exit of the mall. About 100 feet from the exit, i ran into the one thing i was afraid of, someone i know because of my ex. Not just someone she kinda knew and i met because of her, but of course it was her best friend. Awesome right? So she sees me and asks why i was there, i told the story and we talked briefly about her lack of iphone, even though she works at AT&T. Bishop, not knowing who the girl was, continued this conversation for FAR longer than i would've liked (about six and a half hours later) we left and continued to the Bay.
The rest of the drive was rather uneventful until we started towards the place we would be staying. My phone was on low battery and we tried to call his Aunt to get directions to their house, to which she, nor her daughter, nor her husband would answer the phone. His cousin was at work and was bad with directions so she couldn't tell us where to go, and the parents were asleep. We had to go to a 7-11 to use their plug and let my phone charge while waiting for a call from them. 3 packages of ハイーチュウ, (Hi-chew, a Japanese candy like Starbursts, with the most wonderful texture you can imagine) we got a call from his aunt who apologized for falling asleep. We finally got directions and headed over, setup our stuff and his cousin got off work and came home. We spent quite a few hours talking and making fun of Bishop and his poor choices in females before going to bed.
The next morning we all got up and headed to church, out in the park right by their nice little church building. It was a big music program that included the most mind-blowing version of How Great Is Our God, sung by a very talented family and all of the congregation. Oh and it might be helpful to note that Bishop's home church is a Black church. The drummer was a kid that couldn't have been any older than 14, and had more talent than most drummers you have ever seen. A few other groups came up, but none of them impressed me as much as the first. We also brought the hot weather with us, it was a wildly inappropriate 100 degrees there, which is seasonally ridiculous. After haystacks and more sweating, we headed back to the house, and then over to another one of Bishop's family's house. We stayed there for quite a while before looking for some sort of food item, and ended up not getting food, but getting some super secret Jamba Juice. We got a Strawberry Shortcake (not very good) and a Sour Patch Kid (delicious, made with a white gummy, minus mango and something else, sub blueberries and lemonade). We then went to Game stop next door and Bishop had a seriously extended conversation with the most obnoxious female that ever lived. We walked over to the Starbucks that his cousin worked at, and waited for a half hour, then decided to walk around because we still had a while until she got off work. We were walking towards In-N-Out and i pointed to a lamp post and said "Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a cache right under there?" then nearly walked past it before Bishop said "Yeah, might as well check." When i lifted it up, guess what i found? Did you guess a cache? Wouldn't that make a great story? There actually was a cache! It was Epic! we signed the log and i took out a Bicycle brand Die and the next morning, left the only tracking bug we had with us. After talking with Bishop;s cousin and her co-workers, we got kicked out and waited for her, went home, and went to bed.
The next morning we got up, drove his cousin to work, then took off toward Oakland, and after exploring much of Berkeley, Oakland, and its outlying areas, we found our destination, and then headed over to Frisco and JapanTown. We walked up and down the mall area, bought a few things, and had a nice lunch at a small place that has handmade noodles (Papa Bishop had Chicken Katsu, Bishop had Yaki Udon, and I had Zaru Udon). We also grabbed a few more sweets and candy to enjoy later, Melon bread, more Hi-chew, and Almond Crush Pocky. A few more stores later and we headed over to New People, the brand new pop culture museum of sorts and took a look at what they had to offer, the sculptures in red, black, and white were my favorite. Soon after that, we were on our way home after a long and fun weekend.
The last event hasn't actually happened yet, but will be occurring this weekend. I will be heading off to Pismo with my grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt, and two cousins, where we will be meeting my mom, step-dad, and other assorted family members for a family re-union/four hundred and twenty third wedding anniversary. We will see how that all goes, it should be great, but i haven't seen my aunt, uncle, or cousins in years. This part is for you Bishop, a favor to ask. Would you mind grabbing me after I'm done with class at 11 and driving me home so i can grab my clothes, then over to my grandma's house between 12 and 1ish? (and if possible, over to State to grab those bottles of wine before i head out of town?)
I think that is actually all i can possibly hope to write in two sittings, and its nearly time to get ready for bed and lay down with some Kitchen Confidential before falling asleep and waking up for school tomorrow.
Well sitting here,i cant really think of much that happened between May 15th and June 10thish or so, I'm going to start there. Early to mid-July was spent in the SC area for The CCCCm 2009 which started off with a big bang. The night before Bishop (Barney) and my departure date, we helped the CCC pack up everything ever and load it into a truck. Things put in to the truck include but are not limited to: Fourty Bajillion Ping Pong tables, Sixteen dozen basketball hoops, ninety seven and a half plants, and one gondola (yes, the boat). This was all done working for a man that primarily spent his time sitting and talking on a cell phone while four adult males attempted to pack up an entire office and their random junk into his moving truck. this job went on from about five in the afternoon until about three in the morning while sweating profusely in the 90 degree heat. After that we went to Bishop's abode, showered, drove to Winco, bought food and survival supplies that we barely used, and headed down south to the coast. After arriving at nearly eight in the morning, we unpacked and moved in to the canvas tent situated on a vent from the underworld. We didnt sleep after arriving, that is for sissy girls, we went to work immediately to prepare for the upcoming week with a few friends and our boss. We stocked bathrooms and then attempted to set up an inflatable contraption created by none other than Satan himself. It was a hundred and fifty pounds of vinyl and there we two of them. after assembling enough carpets and tarps to cover the rocky ground and protect the inflatable, we began inflating, and by inflating i mean overloading the circuit. This was all done in the hours of the most sun, making an exhausted person nearly useless. One of us was too much of a sissy to handle it and went to take a nap for a few hours while I (whoops, I mean) the other worked like a man. After solving all electrical problems, and inflating both pieces, we were told to take them down because an RV would be filling the space we were using. That means that after hours of effort and work would be succeeded by hours of effort and work to undo everything we did. It was fun, let me tell you. I laid on a table under a tent to rest my entire body and ended up falling asleep for about 10 minutes while no work was accomplished. That was day 0-1. The rest of CCCCm was spent cleaning bathrooms from about 9pm - 2am, and being the faster half each night, no matter what half we did. It was exhausting but fun, and much better in terms of cleanliness compared to last year. Apparently people we civilized and learned not to be disgusting animals. It was a good time being back with the crew and listening to Flint Fletcher talk while we worked. It was a generally enjoyable experience and Barney even took the big dunk while there. I also made a new friend, a very unlikely pairing between Rally and I, mostly because I hate his kind, but somehow the little Rosy Boa charmed me. I also was part of a few puzzles, something I haven't done much of, but was nice and relaxing. 11 days after arriving and countless hours of lost sleep later, we were packing up and heading home.
The next large event was something that had been occurring before, during, and after CCCCm and that would be the separation of my parental units. After many ups, downs, lefts, and rights,it was decided that I would be moving out of my house and into an apartment with my Faj. It was new and exciting and general change to the south to the north of the same exact street. The place is real nice and i feel much better about this place after CCCCm and the events that transpired and have continued since returning, but its all good. Its nice having a pool right by the place, but the late night pool parties sometimes get a bit rowdy and loud, and having people on the other side of the bedroom wall is something to get used to, but they are minor concerns. Life is different, but different is not all bad.
The newest beast has now started, and that would be school. Its now week three of the semester and I have been added to all but one class so far. This is an amazing statistic considering that I am/was crashing 20 units or 6 classes. 5/6 in a school of 30k students and more than half crashing most classes, i can be called lucky. Its even more staggering when 4 of the classes are GE courses that are part of the required courses for anything. I am very much enjoying this semester so far, even though its nearly double the biggest course load i have ever taken. My schedule and feelings on each subject is as follows: (MWF 9-9:50) History 2 - Western Civ. from 1685 - Now. The teacher is able to lecture in a way that does not bore the snot out of me, even though i generally dont find history interesting. He seems to love the subject and had visited many of the places we talk about, with pictures from those experiences. (MWF 10-10:50) Political Science 2 - General Political Science. This is the best professor i have had for polisci thus far, although i have never had one for more than a few weeks every semester. Instead of being very dry and dull, or sweating profusely in clothing too tight for his body, or having a thick Indian accent, he is very good lecturer and makes things more real and interesting. (MW 11-12) Break - Homework period for... (MW 12-1:15) Marketing 12 - Advertising. This may be the easiest and most enjoyable class I have. It makes me want to be done with school and doing my ultimate job even more, and it doesn't hurt that the professor doesn't lecture much and instead spends most of class discussing advertisements and fresh new ideas. (MW 1:15-7am and F 11-7am) Go home and recover for the next day. (TTh 9-10:40) Math 4a - Trigonometry. This is pretty much how it sounds, with a professor that tries to lighten everything up by making really bad jokes and speaking as if he is the class. (TTh 11-12:15) Psych 2 - General Psychology. This is possibly my least favorite class because I had previous experience with the professor, she teaches human sexuality, a class i could only survive a few weeks of before being so repulsed that i had to stop attending. She looks much like the old medicine man in many Native American tribes, and dresses far below her proper age bracket. But Alyx (Robin) in also in the class and has a seat, while i sit in the aisle next to her. Its also the only class i have yet to receive an add slip for. (TTh 12:15-2) Break - Lunch/Studying with both Alyx and Melissa. (TTh 2-3:40) English 1a - Reading and Comprehension. Its probably going to be the reason I wont blog much, every class there is at least one free write and more writing in groups, and thats before any papers have been assigned. It will be nice though because our novel this semester is Fight Club which will be a blast to read. (TTh 3:40-7am) Go Home and recover to start all over again. 20 units doesn't seem quite as daunting as i have made it out to be in previous semesters.
Now for the most recent and juiciest event that has happened is a long story, so go get something to eat and drink, maybe a quick nap after all you've already read and i will wait patiently here until you return. By wait patiently, i actually meant "go eat a delicious Chipotle BBQ Double Cheeseburger and cross-cut fries." Now that we are all satiated, its story time. It starts in the way that many do, I was over at Bishop's house preparing to take off for the Bay Area and his old stomping grounds and being just hungry. We went to a laundromat to dry his family's clothes, and decided to go in search for food. The idea of Indian came up when a vegetarian Indian place was right around the corner, we made our way over there and found that the cooks were on break and we could only get three of the items (meaning it was stuff sitting around vats, just waiting to be slopped into dishes to be served) and we decided against it. We went back towards the laundromat and found the Taj Mahal, another Indian place that is non-vegetarian with a black man that led us inside and actually recommended that we go to the other place for vegetarian food. Long story short, it was delicious. Garlic Naan, Onion Kulcha, and Navratan Korma, and the lentil dish that Bishop ordered (mine was better and had much more depth of flavor). We finished and walked by an Indian spice store when we got a free deep fried something that had a nearly honey-like liquid center, then grabbed the clothes and went back to his house. When we got back, his brothers were watching David Blaine and Criss Angel and talking about how phony and evil they were. We then decided to participate in CA's levitate the viewership through a television, to which i joked and sadly did not levitate. This was my downfall, my disbelief in Criss was a huge mistake, it led to the destruction of my phone. I tried to text after not levitating and my 5 key no longer worked, i could not use JK or L, and those are pretty necessary to spell "will." I closed my phone and tried again, of course it didn't work. I turned it off and turned it back on and all that showed up were the words "You should've believed, Bitch! - Criss Angel." Ok, so it actually was trying to download an update a froze in the middle of it, making my phone effective as as a paper weight or crime deterrent, and nothing else. We leave his house and start on his way with plans to stop in Motown at the mall to find a Verizon store to fix it. We get to the mall and find the first Verizon where there was no Tech Department and was only directions to the Verizon that can actually help with my problem, on the other end of the mall. I am walking fast because Motown in general gives me an uneasy feeling recently, just full of too many memories to be comfortable with, and finally made it to Verizon II. I walk in and show them my issue to which i heard "That's really odd, I've never seen that before." Salesman brings me to the counter to see what can be done, it was out of warranty and i didn't have my own upgrade to use, but i got him to talk to his manager before trying to sell me a brand new phone for some outrageous sum of money, and he came back to tell me that what happened was a "warranty exception." In other words, what happened was so outrageous that they have never seen it before and is therefore not my fault. The problem is that it would cost me $50 to get the replacement. That's at least better than the hundreds a new phone would cost (and was refunded to my account by my step-dad). I take my new phone with zero contacts because the old phone was effectively an expensive brick now and could not have anything transferred from it, and walked to the exit of the mall. About 100 feet from the exit, i ran into the one thing i was afraid of, someone i know because of my ex. Not just someone she kinda knew and i met because of her, but of course it was her best friend. Awesome right? So she sees me and asks why i was there, i told the story and we talked briefly about her lack of iphone, even though she works at AT&T. Bishop, not knowing who the girl was, continued this conversation for FAR longer than i would've liked (about six and a half hours later) we left and continued to the Bay.
The rest of the drive was rather uneventful until we started towards the place we would be staying. My phone was on low battery and we tried to call his Aunt to get directions to their house, to which she, nor her daughter, nor her husband would answer the phone. His cousin was at work and was bad with directions so she couldn't tell us where to go, and the parents were asleep. We had to go to a 7-11 to use their plug and let my phone charge while waiting for a call from them. 3 packages of ハイーチュウ, (Hi-chew, a Japanese candy like Starbursts, with the most wonderful texture you can imagine) we got a call from his aunt who apologized for falling asleep. We finally got directions and headed over, setup our stuff and his cousin got off work and came home. We spent quite a few hours talking and making fun of Bishop and his poor choices in females before going to bed.
The next morning we all got up and headed to church, out in the park right by their nice little church building. It was a big music program that included the most mind-blowing version of How Great Is Our God, sung by a very talented family and all of the congregation. Oh and it might be helpful to note that Bishop's home church is a Black church. The drummer was a kid that couldn't have been any older than 14, and had more talent than most drummers you have ever seen. A few other groups came up, but none of them impressed me as much as the first. We also brought the hot weather with us, it was a wildly inappropriate 100 degrees there, which is seasonally ridiculous. After haystacks and more sweating, we headed back to the house, and then over to another one of Bishop's family's house. We stayed there for quite a while before looking for some sort of food item, and ended up not getting food, but getting some super secret Jamba Juice. We got a Strawberry Shortcake (not very good) and a Sour Patch Kid (delicious, made with a white gummy, minus mango and something else, sub blueberries and lemonade). We then went to Game stop next door and Bishop had a seriously extended conversation with the most obnoxious female that ever lived. We walked over to the Starbucks that his cousin worked at, and waited for a half hour, then decided to walk around because we still had a while until she got off work. We were walking towards In-N-Out and i pointed to a lamp post and said "Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a cache right under there?" then nearly walked past it before Bishop said "Yeah, might as well check." When i lifted it up, guess what i found? Did you guess a cache? Wouldn't that make a great story? There actually was a cache! It was Epic! we signed the log and i took out a Bicycle brand Die and the next morning, left the only tracking bug we had with us. After talking with Bishop;s cousin and her co-workers, we got kicked out and waited for her, went home, and went to bed.
The next morning we got up, drove his cousin to work, then took off toward Oakland, and after exploring much of Berkeley, Oakland, and its outlying areas, we found our destination, and then headed over to Frisco and JapanTown. We walked up and down the mall area, bought a few things, and had a nice lunch at a small place that has handmade noodles (Papa Bishop had Chicken Katsu, Bishop had Yaki Udon, and I had Zaru Udon). We also grabbed a few more sweets and candy to enjoy later, Melon bread, more Hi-chew, and Almond Crush Pocky. A few more stores later and we headed over to New People, the brand new pop culture museum of sorts and took a look at what they had to offer, the sculptures in red, black, and white were my favorite. Soon after that, we were on our way home after a long and fun weekend.
The last event hasn't actually happened yet, but will be occurring this weekend. I will be heading off to Pismo with my grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt, and two cousins, where we will be meeting my mom, step-dad, and other assorted family members for a family re-union/four hundred and twenty third wedding anniversary. We will see how that all goes, it should be great, but i haven't seen my aunt, uncle, or cousins in years. This part is for you Bishop, a favor to ask. Would you mind grabbing me after I'm done with class at 11 and driving me home so i can grab my clothes, then over to my grandma's house between 12 and 1ish? (and if possible, over to State to grab those bottles of wine before i head out of town?)
I think that is actually all i can possibly hope to write in two sittings, and its nearly time to get ready for bed and lay down with some Kitchen Confidential before falling asleep and waking up for school tomorrow.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Missing Demeter...
I miss the still of the silence...
I remember standing at the window and just staring out at the lights before going to bed. Sometimes i would open the window and feel the cool air while looking out. I don't know why, but it was generally raining or at least cloudy and grey. Whether it was a flat bed, or a really rigid couch, it was the most comfortable place i could imagine. It was a wonderful house, full of great memories, and great people. Scraping up a rotten pumpkin with your grandma while your mom was sick. Failed banana pancakes, chocolate muffins, pizza pockets, and leftover Chinese food. Getting up early, driving to work, setting up stations, pouring cedar oil, fed ex deliveries. cleaning up the wax, dropping at least one of every color, cutting up gross things, making Starbucks runs (lightning fast), and cutting up even more disgusting things. Reading Ironside, listening to political nonsense, hearing new gossip, drawing tattoos, and getting kicked out. Watching Across the Universe, dinners with Dr. Nightmare (still not over the political one), and a perfect ping-pong record. Campfire in Tracy, a mean (albeit funny) prank, sugar cookies, cider, a night walk, shared swings, and being unfit for service. More than enough time in the bathroom getting ready, the whistle of the box opening, picking colors and waiting for straighteners to heat up. Somehow the keys were always lost, even though there were a thousand key chains on it. The purse ripping, the midnight showing, the diseased cushion as a souvenir. Asian lettuce wraps, recording memories, and the failed gangsta pose. Hours of driving, endless train rides, released convicts, a crazy hugging woman, Madera, Merced, Turlock, conversations with Teddy. Tenacious D, Avril, Hammer time, traffic jams, missed trains, dinner with the family. Wendy's, headaches, spare bedroom, Borders, star gazing, playground, following the stream, dance party on the stage, being locked in and bribing the clean up crew, getting lost and driving to the 99. Sushi, edamame, poker, going out drinking (if it werent for a headache). Dove Dark Chocolate and Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Falling asleep to SFK, and I stole your luck. I hold on to these memories, and rememeber all the fun. I had a wonderful time with you, and I'm sorry that it didnt work out in the end. I hope I didnt hurt you, and I hope you can forgive me if I did. Your family was so nice to me, and everyone was wonderful. I really am thankful for everything that happened, because it was exactly what I wanted and needed. I wish we talked, and I wish it wouldnt be a problem, but I understand why it would be. I hope everything works out perfectly for you, and I hope DC is everything you deserve. I want you to know that you deserve the best, and that I was and am not that, and for that I'm sorry.
I remember standing at the window and just staring out at the lights before going to bed. Sometimes i would open the window and feel the cool air while looking out. I don't know why, but it was generally raining or at least cloudy and grey. Whether it was a flat bed, or a really rigid couch, it was the most comfortable place i could imagine. It was a wonderful house, full of great memories, and great people. Scraping up a rotten pumpkin with your grandma while your mom was sick. Failed banana pancakes, chocolate muffins, pizza pockets, and leftover Chinese food. Getting up early, driving to work, setting up stations, pouring cedar oil, fed ex deliveries. cleaning up the wax, dropping at least one of every color, cutting up gross things, making Starbucks runs (lightning fast), and cutting up even more disgusting things. Reading Ironside, listening to political nonsense, hearing new gossip, drawing tattoos, and getting kicked out. Watching Across the Universe, dinners with Dr. Nightmare (still not over the political one), and a perfect ping-pong record. Campfire in Tracy, a mean (albeit funny) prank, sugar cookies, cider, a night walk, shared swings, and being unfit for service. More than enough time in the bathroom getting ready, the whistle of the box opening, picking colors and waiting for straighteners to heat up. Somehow the keys were always lost, even though there were a thousand key chains on it. The purse ripping, the midnight showing, the diseased cushion as a souvenir. Asian lettuce wraps, recording memories, and the failed gangsta pose. Hours of driving, endless train rides, released convicts, a crazy hugging woman, Madera, Merced, Turlock, conversations with Teddy. Tenacious D, Avril, Hammer time, traffic jams, missed trains, dinner with the family. Wendy's, headaches, spare bedroom, Borders, star gazing, playground, following the stream, dance party on the stage, being locked in and bribing the clean up crew, getting lost and driving to the 99. Sushi, edamame, poker, going out drinking (if it werent for a headache). Dove Dark Chocolate and Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Falling asleep to SFK, and I stole your luck. I hold on to these memories, and rememeber all the fun. I had a wonderful time with you, and I'm sorry that it didnt work out in the end. I hope I didnt hurt you, and I hope you can forgive me if I did. Your family was so nice to me, and everyone was wonderful. I really am thankful for everything that happened, because it was exactly what I wanted and needed. I wish we talked, and I wish it wouldnt be a problem, but I understand why it would be. I hope everything works out perfectly for you, and I hope DC is everything you deserve. I want you to know that you deserve the best, and that I was and am not that, and for that I'm sorry.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Leap of Faith
I think this may actually be the most controversial thing I ever say in this blog, but I just watched a movie that opened my eyes to something I've never seen before. I just finished watching Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin from the way back year of 1992. It is the story of a faith healer and his troupe of con-men, showing some of the backstage acts and how they create these "miracles." Now up until tonight, every time I saw Peter Popoff, Benny Hinn, or Don Stewart, my immediate reaction was "Satan." Not only do they resemble how you could conceivably picture Satan, but that they willingly trick and deceive people out of their money and belongings by faking miracles and wonderful sights. No more will I actually see them this way though, the movie really made me see something totally different about it, and in the end, one question remains. Does the end justify the means? These faith healers reach millions of people at a time, every time their infomercials come on, and every time they hold events in every city they visit. By seeing what they believe to be a miracle, millions of people find faith and religion because of it, and may contribute the the numbers of saved individuals. Now, what separates a Faith Healer from a Minister, a Priest, or a Pastor? I think the answer is very slight, in the end, all churches use separate means of deception, and I don't think that there really is one single guiltless church body in existence. In every body, there will be disagreement between each other, the Catholics will be molesters and condemners, the SDAs will be a cult, and the Mormons will be the ones that use their own story in their own book. The questions is: is it wrong to show something untrue to people, when you know that it will inspire faith? Now, I'm not saying that Popoff, Hinn, Stewart, or any other crooked church leaders are good people, because they profit greatly from all of these people that believe in them. But if you were to do this as a non-profit organization, would it be wrong? To put on a show, where you have inspirational music, where you show people the joys of what could happen with faith (because anything is possible with the Lord), and you make no promises of real miracles, but instead make it more like a play/skit/act, would it be right? Would you have to announce that no real miracles will be performed, to make it right? Or does the end (a multitude of new believers) justify the means (a show of "miracles" or the use of fear or claims of the truth)?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The CCC of the CCC
Barney and I have come up with an idea and a general plan for the newest adventure we will be embarking on. Even though it shouldn't be called the Collage of Collegians in Churches of the Central California Conference, its all I have come up with at the moment, and as you will see very soon, I feel like making abbreviations. We will (as you may have surmised from the title) be creating a collegiate group that has no singular ties to any church, but instead is a collage (or melting pot, depending on what you would prefer to call it) of all the area churches. We also are just the ones beginning and organizing this, we are not the leaders, because we don't want it to be a Leader/follower relationship, but a group of friends that can meet together and study the bible together, and find truth based on what they find instead of what they are told. We are just beginning the planning process and haven't formed anything solid yet, but we will be having a brainstorming session to get as many details as possible down. As reluctant as I feel about this idea, I don't think I can deny the idea anymore. The sign from the Big Guy Upstairs has been given and its has become an undeniable requirement to start this up. After this past church service, Tyrone and I were standing in the parking lot with The Red Baron and her friend 30 Credits, when we noticed a few people we had never seen before and wondered about. 12 seconds later, the guy we had seen and wondered about had approached us and asked, "Do you guys have an older youth group that does anything together?" Clear enough for you? I don't think it gets any clearer to me.
This has also inspired another idea that i will credit to Barney, but has been improved by my own brain. There was a movement in the Nerdfighter circles called BEDA, which stands for Blog Every Day, April. It was started by the author Maureen Johnson and quickly caught fire. In the spirit of this, I have taken the idea Barney gave me which was to wake up every morning and do a solo bible study for a week, and turn it into BSEMM or Bible Study Every Morning, May, starting on the 4th, but if I make it all the way through May, then I may end up HayleyGHoover-ing and making it BSEMEA (Bible Study Every Morning Ever Almost). This idea was spawned by the need of strengthening our own faith before attempting to help strengthen other's faith. So thats the Dizzle for Rizzle, it has been writ and therefore I must accomplish it or have to admit that I failed.
This has also inspired another idea that i will credit to Barney, but has been improved by my own brain. There was a movement in the Nerdfighter circles called BEDA, which stands for Blog Every Day, April. It was started by the author Maureen Johnson and quickly caught fire. In the spirit of this, I have taken the idea Barney gave me which was to wake up every morning and do a solo bible study for a week, and turn it into BSEMM or Bible Study Every Morning, May, starting on the 4th, but if I make it all the way through May, then I may end up HayleyGHoover-ing and making it BSEMEA (Bible Study Every Morning Ever Almost). This idea was spawned by the need of strengthening our own faith before attempting to help strengthen other's faith. So thats the Dizzle for Rizzle, it has been writ and therefore I must accomplish it or have to admit that I failed.
Idear
This commercial really inspired an idea in me, and its amazing that a 30 second commercial and do that to someone (the fact that i cant wait to be the person that creates that inspiration in another is a whole different blog). If you really think about this commercial, it would be great to have this green line for every aspect of our lives. Now, if this line led you in the right way every time, and never led you to making a mistake, it would make a new question appear. If you knew how to never make a mistake and go through life following this line, would you? If you never made mistakes, then all of your ex-mates would be gone, so while you may not have experienced heart-break, you also wouldnt have experienced all the fun, joy, and rush of emotion that came with being attached to them. You also would lose all things that you learned about with or because of them, you would lose the clothes that you found with them, and the places youve seen and visited together. It is possible that you would have found these on your own, but its more likely that you wouldn't. This would also eliminate all of the adventures that you had with your friends that got you into any level of trouble (be it legal or just parental) and all situations that could get you in trouble (that you may have narrowly escaped getting in trouble for). The commercial also shows that you are free to walk away from this line whenever you want, and the line will still show you where you should be, but it doesnt show you what happens if you make a mistake by wandering from the line. It may be as easy as those GPS voices saying "Recalculating," or it may not alter your path at all, and just be the line that from that moment foreward has determined how to get there and there is only one path to it whether you stray and come back or never leave it at all. Its easier to say the second would be most likely, and creates a better scenario to talk about. Now knowing that straying from the path, and the path would continue as if nothing ever happened, would you want that path to lead you? Would it make it easier to keep on the right track, and would you still stray from it, knowing it wasnt the right thing to do? There is only one problem to think about with this path, can you stray so much for so long, that you lose sight of that path, and what if you want to go back to it?
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Adventures in Yaya's Castle
Yaya's beautiful castle would be much more correct, because she did make many mentions of how beautiful it is. I spent the majority of my weekend hanging out with a new crowd. This crowd consists of a really great and fun family, especially one really fun little girl. She is The Red Baron's little sister and about three and a half years old. i think its wonderful being able to see how little kids react to their surroundings and tell you how they feel and say whatever they want, because they don't feel obligations or embarrassment if something goes wrong. While this doesn't work for everyone and wont solve every problem, it is still nice to see. [deep thoughts and insight here]
I really lost all thought of what i was planning on writing above, but i need a new blog to update everything and not make people think I'm still in the "Comatose" mindset or mood. The next few days cleared everything up and everything is nice and peachy. I had a good week and a great weekend. I did hang out with Yaya and her sister, where i went from the scary and tall boy to the fun one that flips her over and carries her upside down and chases her. On Saturday night, The Red Baron and I went to hang out at Riverpark and wait for Barney come so we could watch the Soloist. Before and after the movie, Barney and I talked up and got some more support for our experimental Nex-Gen Churching, which now the more i talk and think about it, seems more and more likely to be a good and successful idea. Sunday was the day that I went with The Red Baron to mini-golf at Yaya's beautiful castle and also briefly to Chuck-e-cheese's. It was pretty fun, but Papa Red Baron took everything a little too seriously, but it was still fun. That was pretty much my weekend.
I really lost all thought of what i was planning on writing above, but i need a new blog to update everything and not make people think I'm still in the "Comatose" mindset or mood. The next few days cleared everything up and everything is nice and peachy. I had a good week and a great weekend. I did hang out with Yaya and her sister, where i went from the scary and tall boy to the fun one that flips her over and carries her upside down and chases her. On Saturday night, The Red Baron and I went to hang out at Riverpark and wait for Barney come so we could watch the Soloist. Before and after the movie, Barney and I talked up and got some more support for our experimental Nex-Gen Churching, which now the more i talk and think about it, seems more and more likely to be a good and successful idea. Sunday was the day that I went with The Red Baron to mini-golf at Yaya's beautiful castle and also briefly to Chuck-e-cheese's. It was pretty fun, but Papa Red Baron took everything a little too seriously, but it was still fun. That was pretty much my weekend.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Comatose
So this may not come out right, it my sound almost disrespectful in some ways, but it came to me and i dont think I will be able to sleep until ive written it out. Ive never had a medical emergency, ive never been admitted to a hospital for anything after my birth. Ive had injuries, but never anything serious.ive never been on the brink of death, or violently ill in my adult life. I can help but think of how lucky people that have and survived are. I think that would be truely the best way to find out the truth about the people, places, and things that you hold close to you. If you were to go into a coma, who would come visit even though they know you wont be talking to them? Who would show up and bring flowers/cards/balloons? Who wouldnt show up? Would anyone outside of your family show up regularly? Its great to think that you have contributed to someone else's life, and put your all into being there for them, but if it came down to a hopless situation, would they bail and look for something new? Have you really done enough to keep those people around when you cant be there for them?
The most important questions aren't any of those, they are all good questions, but not the best ones. Who would you be surprised to find there? Have you been neglecting someone thinking that it puttered out and nothing came of it? Did one thing you do for someone mean more to them than it meant to you?
The thing to think about is are you seeing everything and everyone in the correct light. The wrong light on one situation can mean the difference between making a life-long friendship, and losing that friendship. I dont in any way claim to know the right light for any situation, ive made some of the worst mistakes, ive acted wrongly and ive dstroyed some great things. But in the end, you should learn from every moment in your life. You may not learn anything ground breaking for long stretches, but everything you learn is important. Today, i learned an awful lot of things. 98% of those were out of bad situations that i either made worse, or just bad situations. Now i know not to do a few things and to pay more attention to others. Nothing specific, because everyone needs to learn their own lessons, or else they wont learn anything. Just know, Bridges burn easily, and the only way to know how easily, is for them to burst into flames in front of your eyes.
I give up, im not sure that anything ive said is sensical or even worth writing, this is just my silly attempt at getting sleep. Loud music couldnt cover thinking, so i hoped that writing would. We will see. Back to Happy-Go-Lucky and fun times in the next blog.
[String of expletives deleted] o('-')o
The most important questions aren't any of those, they are all good questions, but not the best ones. Who would you be surprised to find there? Have you been neglecting someone thinking that it puttered out and nothing came of it? Did one thing you do for someone mean more to them than it meant to you?
The thing to think about is are you seeing everything and everyone in the correct light. The wrong light on one situation can mean the difference between making a life-long friendship, and losing that friendship. I dont in any way claim to know the right light for any situation, ive made some of the worst mistakes, ive acted wrongly and ive dstroyed some great things. But in the end, you should learn from every moment in your life. You may not learn anything ground breaking for long stretches, but everything you learn is important. Today, i learned an awful lot of things. 98% of those were out of bad situations that i either made worse, or just bad situations. Now i know not to do a few things and to pay more attention to others. Nothing specific, because everyone needs to learn their own lessons, or else they wont learn anything. Just know, Bridges burn easily, and the only way to know how easily, is for them to burst into flames in front of your eyes.
I give up, im not sure that anything ive said is sensical or even worth writing, this is just my silly attempt at getting sleep. Loud music couldnt cover thinking, so i hoped that writing would. We will see. Back to Happy-Go-Lucky and fun times in the next blog.
[String of expletives deleted] o('-')o
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Musical
So this has easily been one of the most musical weekends of my life (excluding Spirit West Coast, which is well, only music). It started on Friday with an Art Hop that was kinda light on the art and the hop was only slightly hoppy, but it was still a good start to a musical weekend.
Saturday continued by adding a trip to Vintage Days and the Battle of the Bands, which was interesting to say the very least. It started alright, the first band had good music but pretty lacking vocals. The second band was either a really awful or so good that i couldn't wrap my brain around it. They pretty much just made noise just to be as loud and obnoxious as possible, while you watch the vocalist scream and strain so hard you got to know every vein in his face and neck because they were almost all that you could see, oh and you couldn't hear his voice because he was turned down so low that even his screaming didn't carry over the bass that they cranked to 11. Then the last minute fill in for the no show band act came up and made a good attempt at last minute performing. They were three guys and a girl who rapped over pre-made beats and ran around stage. The hype guy was good, and the guy with actual skill was rapping quite fast, but the girl sang atrociously and the white guy that just paced the stage was laughably bad. The most energetic crowd response was for "GODS AND KINGS MOTHERFUCKER," and if anyone is able to forget their name after hearing it screamed about ten bajillion times by their thoroughly drugged and therefore loud friends. They were death metal, with an ...interesting... poem, two of my least favorite things. The poem was something about satan and they sharing a baby to snack on, with a side of puppies and rainbows. Ok, well maybe not, but i didn't care to listen to the poem and my version is much more entertaining. They were, well, loud. Their friends did a nice hair band tribute by throwing their hair around and nodding their heads, it was good. The real talent came after that, a band called Radagun (Rad-uh-gun) was up and they were as if Paramore and Flyleaf had babies that made a band. The easiest comparison is those because Radagun had a female singer and all male band mates. They easily had the strangest bass player because (and I'm not sure about this) had a stroke on stage and kept playing through it. His face was super-expressive, its just too bad that he looked as if he was birthing a baby calf with his eyes wide open the whole time. They ended up winning because they probably got point for not being as bad as band 2, not a last second replacement like 3, not chanting satan into the building like 4, and actually had talent. The last band to go could have been good, it was Hip-Rock, with the vocalist rapping to his band playing rock beats. It was well done and showed creativity, but the voice was muffled and it kinda took away from the performance.
Today, was even more music, this time of the expected nature. I went out to see the Super Lucky Cats core acoustic session at Bobafucius and had a good time. Robert and Brandon played a short set including my favorite song, and before they played music, I had a nice game and lesson in chess with Robert. He wiped the floor with me, but I learned a lot and had a good time. They are going to be playing there monthly and it is a must see.
But thats not all, if you order now, I'll throw in a Mennonite Men's Choir consisting of 150 male voices. I went to support one of the voices, in the form of my Grandpa (technically step, but thats isn't important). It was, how can I put this delicately, DULL AS HELL. I shouldn't be proud to admit this, but I was doing theoretical physics on a piece of the bulletin because it would keep me awake. I actually use that strategy a lot. Boring car rides and things of that nature are hard to fall asleep during if you're simultaneously doing math and spatial reasoning in your head. That wrapped up my musical weekend, in total there were nine different musical groups in a three day span. Thats a nice average.
----------------------
In non-music news, there is a new member of the Kool Kids Klub (which is only 3/4 of one person and 1/2 of another person ironic. Yeah Barney and Robin, way to ruin the dynamics by being different.) No Show doesn't really count as new to town because she did live here, but she is newly moved for a long period of time, and i am happy about it. Its nice to know and have more people to hang out with, and if Justin (I have a feeling that i got his name wrong, I remember that it started with a J though, but there wasn't much conversing when he was around) joins up, that would be cool too. That would make two new movers (and coincidentally at about the same time too) in the same group. I did some mini-golfing and had a blast, even though it was 45783 degrees outside. I pretty much played the whole course with a putter made for a six year old because the short person didn't want to feel short. It was nice hanging out with a female without dating them or even wanting to date them. Getting to know someone just to know more about people and care about their lives, the world needs more people to care about what people have to say, it would solve a lot of issues. I also had a really great conversation with someone that I haven't talked to in a year or more. Its funny that the simplest things can start a good conversation and a catch-up, when you may not even remember why you lost touch in the first place. I'm glad to hear that she is happy and that she was able to have such an experience this weekend.
In other news, tomorrow starts another week, and I'm sort of excited. I like making plans for the future, ones that you plan on keeping, because you always have something to look foreward to. Currently a hike up Half Dome and a game of catch/pitch and hit are on the docket. I don't think I have a choice in getting much more fit, and doing a lot less of sitting and doing nothing. Activity in life is amazing.
In strange feeling news, I really don't know, but there are enough clues to suggest, my ex is engaged and going to get married at some point. If its true, Congratulations! I'm really happy for you and that you could find that guy so soon. I sincerely hope everything works out like you deserve. But now i kinda understand the feeling that my brother had when his ex got engaged and married. Its kinda odd.
Its a really good thing that I'm enjoying the single life and think its too soon for me to even think of marriage. But thats for another day, because I'm still sorting out my feelings and my naive thoughts of when I will be married by.
Saturday continued by adding a trip to Vintage Days and the Battle of the Bands, which was interesting to say the very least. It started alright, the first band had good music but pretty lacking vocals. The second band was either a really awful or so good that i couldn't wrap my brain around it. They pretty much just made noise just to be as loud and obnoxious as possible, while you watch the vocalist scream and strain so hard you got to know every vein in his face and neck because they were almost all that you could see, oh and you couldn't hear his voice because he was turned down so low that even his screaming didn't carry over the bass that they cranked to 11. Then the last minute fill in for the no show band act came up and made a good attempt at last minute performing. They were three guys and a girl who rapped over pre-made beats and ran around stage. The hype guy was good, and the guy with actual skill was rapping quite fast, but the girl sang atrociously and the white guy that just paced the stage was laughably bad. The most energetic crowd response was for "GODS AND KINGS MOTHERFUCKER," and if anyone is able to forget their name after hearing it screamed about ten bajillion times by their thoroughly drugged and therefore loud friends. They were death metal, with an ...interesting... poem, two of my least favorite things. The poem was something about satan and they sharing a baby to snack on, with a side of puppies and rainbows. Ok, well maybe not, but i didn't care to listen to the poem and my version is much more entertaining. They were, well, loud. Their friends did a nice hair band tribute by throwing their hair around and nodding their heads, it was good. The real talent came after that, a band called Radagun (Rad-uh-gun) was up and they were as if Paramore and Flyleaf had babies that made a band. The easiest comparison is those because Radagun had a female singer and all male band mates. They easily had the strangest bass player because (and I'm not sure about this) had a stroke on stage and kept playing through it. His face was super-expressive, its just too bad that he looked as if he was birthing a baby calf with his eyes wide open the whole time. They ended up winning because they probably got point for not being as bad as band 2, not a last second replacement like 3, not chanting satan into the building like 4, and actually had talent. The last band to go could have been good, it was Hip-Rock, with the vocalist rapping to his band playing rock beats. It was well done and showed creativity, but the voice was muffled and it kinda took away from the performance.
Today, was even more music, this time of the expected nature. I went out to see the Super Lucky Cats core acoustic session at Bobafucius and had a good time. Robert and Brandon played a short set including my favorite song, and before they played music, I had a nice game and lesson in chess with Robert. He wiped the floor with me, but I learned a lot and had a good time. They are going to be playing there monthly and it is a must see.
But thats not all, if you order now, I'll throw in a Mennonite Men's Choir consisting of 150 male voices. I went to support one of the voices, in the form of my Grandpa (technically step, but thats isn't important). It was, how can I put this delicately, DULL AS HELL. I shouldn't be proud to admit this, but I was doing theoretical physics on a piece of the bulletin because it would keep me awake. I actually use that strategy a lot. Boring car rides and things of that nature are hard to fall asleep during if you're simultaneously doing math and spatial reasoning in your head. That wrapped up my musical weekend, in total there were nine different musical groups in a three day span. Thats a nice average.
----------------------
In non-music news, there is a new member of the Kool Kids Klub (which is only 3/4 of one person and 1/2 of another person ironic. Yeah Barney and Robin, way to ruin the dynamics by being different.) No Show doesn't really count as new to town because she did live here, but she is newly moved for a long period of time, and i am happy about it. Its nice to know and have more people to hang out with, and if Justin (I have a feeling that i got his name wrong, I remember that it started with a J though, but there wasn't much conversing when he was around) joins up, that would be cool too. That would make two new movers (and coincidentally at about the same time too) in the same group. I did some mini-golfing and had a blast, even though it was 45783 degrees outside. I pretty much played the whole course with a putter made for a six year old because the short person didn't want to feel short. It was nice hanging out with a female without dating them or even wanting to date them. Getting to know someone just to know more about people and care about their lives, the world needs more people to care about what people have to say, it would solve a lot of issues. I also had a really great conversation with someone that I haven't talked to in a year or more. Its funny that the simplest things can start a good conversation and a catch-up, when you may not even remember why you lost touch in the first place. I'm glad to hear that she is happy and that she was able to have such an experience this weekend.
In other news, tomorrow starts another week, and I'm sort of excited. I like making plans for the future, ones that you plan on keeping, because you always have something to look foreward to. Currently a hike up Half Dome and a game of catch/pitch and hit are on the docket. I don't think I have a choice in getting much more fit, and doing a lot less of sitting and doing nothing. Activity in life is amazing.
In strange feeling news, I really don't know, but there are enough clues to suggest, my ex is engaged and going to get married at some point. If its true, Congratulations! I'm really happy for you and that you could find that guy so soon. I sincerely hope everything works out like you deserve. But now i kinda understand the feeling that my brother had when his ex got engaged and married. Its kinda odd.
Its a really good thing that I'm enjoying the single life and think its too soon for me to even think of marriage. But thats for another day, because I'm still sorting out my feelings and my naive thoughts of when I will be married by.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
DC
When did manners go out the door? This one is addressed to your marine, and you can tell him, or he can read it himself, it doesnt much matter. First, "Faggot" is obviously not true as evidenced by the fact that you know me through Kaye (but I wont try to convince you that "faggot" isn't an insult because there is nothing insulting about being homosexual). Second, you really didnt need to "threaten" me with coming and finding me and the fact that i dont want that, thanks for the heads up. In the end, all you had to say was that you didnt want me talking to her anymore, I've been in the situation and I know what its like. I respect you for being a Marine, you do wonderful things in defense of this country, but messages like that really dimish reputation. At the end of this all, I know what its like so I'm going to give you that space and wish you the best of luck in life, I really hope everything works out. Oh, and Happy Easter to you as well.
New Addiction!
So, this whole video game thing may get out of hand, I've regressed about ten years and started playing Pokemon Emerald. I know already, that does make me a loser, in a extreme way. But I've never seen any of the new breed of Pokemon and if you think you're not curious, you're wrong, and you know you remember a few from the original set. But much like I kept updating the Harvest Moon Blog, I plan on doing the same thing (with the Pokedex names and numbers, badges, and other important things I come across). So here it is for you to try to compete with.
Pokedex:
(x) - Only seen, havent caught
* - In my party
001: Treeko (x)
007: Mudkip (My starter Pokemon)
008: Marshtomp*
010: Poochyena
011: Mightyena (x)
012: Zigzagoon
013: Linoone (x)
014: Wurmple
015: Silcoon
016: Beautifly (x)
017: Cascoon
018: Dustox (x)
019: Lotad (2)
020: Lombre (x)
022: Seedot
023: Nuzleaf (x)
025: Taillow
026: Swellow (x)
027: Wingull
028: Pelipper (x)
029: Ralts
030: Kirlia*
034: Shroomish
036: Slakoth
037: Vigoroth*
038: Slaking (x)
039: Abra (caught one, bred two more)
040: Kadabra
042: Nincada
043: Ninjask (x)
045: Whismur
046: Loudred (x)
048: Makuhita
050: Goldeen
052: Magicarp
053: Gyrados*
054: Azurill (x)
055: Marill (2)
057: Geodude
058: Graveler (x)
060: Nosepass (x)
061: Skitty*
062: Delacatty
063: Zubat
066: Tentacool
068: Sableye
070: Aron
073: Machop
076: Meditite (x)
078: Electrike
079: Manetric (x)
080: Plusle
081: Minun
082: Magnemite (x)
083: Magneton (x)
084: Voltorb (x)
086: Volbeat (x)
087: Ilumise (x)
088: Oddish
089: Gloom (x)
092: Doduo (x)
094: Roselia (only acquired by trade)
095: Gulpin
097: Carvanha (x)
099: Wailmer (x)
101: Numel
102: Camerupt (x)
103: Slugma
105: Torkoal
108: Koffing
110: Spoink (x)
112: Sandshrew
114: Spinda
115: Skarmory
116: Trapinch
121: Swablu
122: Altaria (x)
123: Zangoose (x)
124: Seviper
126: Solrock
127: Barboach (x)
131: Baltoy (x)
139: Wigglytuff (x)
142: Castform
145: Kecleon
150: Tropius (x)
152: Absol (x)
160: Wynaut
163: Xatu (x)
167: Pinsir (x)
Totals: 91 Seen, 51 Caught
Trainer Card:
ID: 51061
Badges: Stone, Knuckle, Dynamo, Heat, Balance, and Feather.
PokeNav:
40 Registered
Pokedex:
(x) - Only seen, havent caught
* - In my party
001: Treeko (x)
007: Mudkip (My starter Pokemon)
008: Marshtomp*
010: Poochyena
011: Mightyena (x)
012: Zigzagoon
013: Linoone (x)
014: Wurmple
015: Silcoon
016: Beautifly (x)
017: Cascoon
018: Dustox (x)
019: Lotad (2)
020: Lombre (x)
022: Seedot
023: Nuzleaf (x)
025: Taillow
026: Swellow (x)
027: Wingull
028: Pelipper (x)
029: Ralts
030: Kirlia*
034: Shroomish
036: Slakoth
037: Vigoroth*
038: Slaking (x)
039: Abra (caught one, bred two more)
040: Kadabra
042: Nincada
043: Ninjask (x)
045: Whismur
046: Loudred (x)
048: Makuhita
050: Goldeen
052: Magicarp
053: Gyrados*
054: Azurill (x)
055: Marill (2)
057: Geodude
058: Graveler (x)
060: Nosepass (x)
061: Skitty*
062: Delacatty
063: Zubat
066: Tentacool
068: Sableye
070: Aron
073: Machop
076: Meditite (x)
078: Electrike
079: Manetric (x)
080: Plusle
081: Minun
082: Magnemite (x)
083: Magneton (x)
084: Voltorb (x)
086: Volbeat (x)
087: Ilumise (x)
088: Oddish
089: Gloom (x)
092: Doduo (x)
094: Roselia (only acquired by trade)
095: Gulpin
097: Carvanha (x)
099: Wailmer (x)
101: Numel
102: Camerupt (x)
103: Slugma
105: Torkoal
108: Koffing
110: Spoink (x)
112: Sandshrew
114: Spinda
115: Skarmory
116: Trapinch
121: Swablu
122: Altaria (x)
123: Zangoose (x)
124: Seviper
126: Solrock
127: Barboach (x)
131: Baltoy (x)
139: Wigglytuff (x)
142: Castform
145: Kecleon
150: Tropius (x)
152: Absol (x)
160: Wynaut
163: Xatu (x)
167: Pinsir (x)
Totals: 91 Seen, 51 Caught
Trainer Card:
ID: 51061
Badges: Stone, Knuckle, Dynamo, Heat, Balance, and Feather.
PokeNav:
40 Registered
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Its Been a While...
Its funny how a song can bring memories from long passed times, the song currently playing is Desperately Wanting by Better than Ezra (who have an awesome story for how their band name came about... They first played at a tellent show and were preceded by a band named Ezra, who thoroughly sucked, and BTE had not been named yet, so they came out and introduced themselves as "Better than Ezra") and this song immediately makes me think of CT and Sarah's basement, because 1) she loved BTE and 2) this was one of her favorite songs by them and 3) I used this song as an excuse that got me alot of "awwwwwwwwwwws." Now we are going to take a trip through my mind as my itunes shuffles all my music and memories come.
Paramore: It really doesnt matter what song, the band is forever connected to Christine who was the first to introduce me to the band by asking me "does her hair look awesome?"
Colin Hay - Overkill: Scrubs, not much else, just that its the awesome song from Scrubs. The Police: Wonderful band, my mom's favorite and always playing in the house.
Tenacious D - Wonderboy (Also applies to Tenacious D - Tribute, Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend, MC Hammer - 2 Legit 2 Quit and Can't Touch This and Metro Station - Shake it.): Driving home on the 99 singing as loud as possible, laughing hysterically, and dancing which caused more hysterical laughing.
Alterbridge - Open Your Eyes: "Whos song is this?" "Hint: To Change and the Golden Gate ____" "Now what did this band go by before they got a new lead singer?" "What is the old lead singer's name?" "Why did the lead singer leave?" The sad thing about this is that even after the 50th time asking, it took the same effort to get the right answers.
30 Seconds to Mars: Jeremiah. Originally came from the song From Yesterday which had a wicked cool music video. Then they became a regular on my iPod while i was going to/from State on the bus.
Fall Out Boy: CT, and the group. It just was kinda on when we were together, not even always on purpose.
The Nightmare Before Christmas - Kidnap the Sandy Claws: Disney Land, and the Haunted Mansion arguing in line over a camera.
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours: Athena playing guitar and singing this song while i was down in SD for Christmas, she was really good.
Marty Casey (The Lovehammers) - Trees: Simple and good song from the Rockstar:INXS show. Therefore indirectly it reminds me of Buckle because he thought about trying out for the show until he read the contract (they own you and your songs to do with as they please for a year+ depending on how well you do.)
Guster: Forever will be equated with Campmeeting drives, being in the black Corolla driving to and from with the windows down all the way and music blaring.
Skillet: Cory gets credit for them for knowing everything about them, having all their CDs and playing them frequently, and yes, the wife did ruin the band for that short period.
Red - Breathe into Me: SWC opening concert, and their semi-satanic looking eye make-up.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Holding my breath, their music was just what i happened to chose while trying to learn how to hold my breath longer and control my heart rate.
Boyce Avenue: Taylor trying to talk about how off the singer's voice is and talk about how much she knew about pitch and tone and blah blah blah, while just about everyone else enjoyed their covers of good music in different styles.
Gavin DeGraw - Chemical Party: ALWAYS on in Becca's car, when i say ALWAYS, i mean ALWAYS. Good thing i liked the song.
Jack Johnson - Bananana Pancakes: (yes, the is an extra "na"... its on purpose) I remember listening to the song in CT and deciding that i was going to make bananana pancakes. As for the extra "na," I attribute that to the original joke, but more to Whit because it always made her laugh and we both used it as often as possible.
Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah: This one is possibly the most abstract memory connection, it reminds me of the story of Samson (which is a part of the song "she broke your throne and she cut your hair") and how i could've nearly written a dissertation on what that story teaches you about love.
J-Mae - Ooh La La: First is pretty obvious that it reminds me of my sis (not by birth, but by eternal friendship of both the parents and the two of us...) because she is singin it, and being in her basement where i stole the song she attempted to hide from me. It reminds me of the teen center where she recorded the song, and also the first time we met, in my driveway in CT at a party her mom was invited to, and she talked to my brother and I about how she was having a hard time at school with "friends."
South - Paint the Silence: The OC, its the song that no matter what will always remind me of the show, along with California by Phantom Planet.
Kutless - Promise of a Lifetime: My brother's first sermon and my first children's story because it was the song Cory sang as a special music.
Matt White - Best Days and Matt Nathanson - Come on Get Higher: An awesome pair of songs that go together nicely (even though the edited version of Best Days is better...) especially on the drive up or down from Mo-town.
Breaking Benjamin - So Cold (acoustical): This song brings me back to CT and someone i only saw a few times, Jill's brother loved BB and had never heard this version of the song, that immediately brings up the greatest moment in video game sports history. On the first time I met Casey, (who was/is a 3rd degree black belt in one of the violent sports and for a short time was training for the UFC) we played a game of NCAA or Madden football, and he had the lead with the ball and thirty seconds or so left in the game and i made a prediction. My prediction was that in the last play of the game, I would sack him and cause a fumble, then run the fumble back for a touchdown to win the game like a hero. Yeah, it happened.
Family Force Five - Erfquake: The single most embarassing song that i own, and it reminds of SWC and hulk smash gloves (which the lead singer used to hold his mic). I really dislike this "band/crew of idiots."
On that note, i think i'll end this trip though my memory and mind, but it was a fun little trip for me even if you didnt enjoy it.
Paramore: It really doesnt matter what song, the band is forever connected to Christine who was the first to introduce me to the band by asking me "does her hair look awesome?"
Colin Hay - Overkill: Scrubs, not much else, just that its the awesome song from Scrubs. The Police: Wonderful band, my mom's favorite and always playing in the house.
Tenacious D - Wonderboy (Also applies to Tenacious D - Tribute, Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend, MC Hammer - 2 Legit 2 Quit and Can't Touch This and Metro Station - Shake it.): Driving home on the 99 singing as loud as possible, laughing hysterically, and dancing which caused more hysterical laughing.
Alterbridge - Open Your Eyes: "Whos song is this?" "Hint: To Change and the Golden Gate ____" "Now what did this band go by before they got a new lead singer?" "What is the old lead singer's name?" "Why did the lead singer leave?" The sad thing about this is that even after the 50th time asking, it took the same effort to get the right answers.
30 Seconds to Mars: Jeremiah. Originally came from the song From Yesterday which had a wicked cool music video. Then they became a regular on my iPod while i was going to/from State on the bus.
Fall Out Boy: CT, and the group. It just was kinda on when we were together, not even always on purpose.
The Nightmare Before Christmas - Kidnap the Sandy Claws: Disney Land, and the Haunted Mansion arguing in line over a camera.
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours: Athena playing guitar and singing this song while i was down in SD for Christmas, she was really good.
Marty Casey (The Lovehammers) - Trees: Simple and good song from the Rockstar:INXS show. Therefore indirectly it reminds me of Buckle because he thought about trying out for the show until he read the contract (they own you and your songs to do with as they please for a year+ depending on how well you do.)
Guster: Forever will be equated with Campmeeting drives, being in the black Corolla driving to and from with the windows down all the way and music blaring.
Skillet: Cory gets credit for them for knowing everything about them, having all their CDs and playing them frequently, and yes, the wife did ruin the band for that short period.
Red - Breathe into Me: SWC opening concert, and their semi-satanic looking eye make-up.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Holding my breath, their music was just what i happened to chose while trying to learn how to hold my breath longer and control my heart rate.
Boyce Avenue: Taylor trying to talk about how off the singer's voice is and talk about how much she knew about pitch and tone and blah blah blah, while just about everyone else enjoyed their covers of good music in different styles.
Gavin DeGraw - Chemical Party: ALWAYS on in Becca's car, when i say ALWAYS, i mean ALWAYS. Good thing i liked the song.
Jack Johnson - Bananana Pancakes: (yes, the is an extra "na"... its on purpose) I remember listening to the song in CT and deciding that i was going to make bananana pancakes. As for the extra "na," I attribute that to the original joke, but more to Whit because it always made her laugh and we both used it as often as possible.
Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah: This one is possibly the most abstract memory connection, it reminds me of the story of Samson (which is a part of the song "she broke your throne and she cut your hair") and how i could've nearly written a dissertation on what that story teaches you about love.
J-Mae - Ooh La La: First is pretty obvious that it reminds me of my sis (not by birth, but by eternal friendship of both the parents and the two of us...) because she is singin it, and being in her basement where i stole the song she attempted to hide from me. It reminds me of the teen center where she recorded the song, and also the first time we met, in my driveway in CT at a party her mom was invited to, and she talked to my brother and I about how she was having a hard time at school with "friends."
South - Paint the Silence: The OC, its the song that no matter what will always remind me of the show, along with California by Phantom Planet.
Kutless - Promise of a Lifetime: My brother's first sermon and my first children's story because it was the song Cory sang as a special music.
Matt White - Best Days and Matt Nathanson - Come on Get Higher: An awesome pair of songs that go together nicely (even though the edited version of Best Days is better...) especially on the drive up or down from Mo-town.
Breaking Benjamin - So Cold (acoustical): This song brings me back to CT and someone i only saw a few times, Jill's brother loved BB and had never heard this version of the song, that immediately brings up the greatest moment in video game sports history. On the first time I met Casey, (who was/is a 3rd degree black belt in one of the violent sports and for a short time was training for the UFC) we played a game of NCAA or Madden football, and he had the lead with the ball and thirty seconds or so left in the game and i made a prediction. My prediction was that in the last play of the game, I would sack him and cause a fumble, then run the fumble back for a touchdown to win the game like a hero. Yeah, it happened.
Family Force Five - Erfquake: The single most embarassing song that i own, and it reminds of SWC and hulk smash gloves (which the lead singer used to hold his mic). I really dislike this "band/crew of idiots."
On that note, i think i'll end this trip though my memory and mind, but it was a fun little trip for me even if you didnt enjoy it.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Acceleration, Deceleration, and Everything in Between.
0-10: Three years.
10-0: One month.
0-8: Two months.
8-0: ?
I guess this wouldn't make a car worthy of Fast and Furious on paper, but it would easily win the most unique competition. I guess in the end I'm not looking for the newest and fastest car thats ever been made, I don't need the Bugatti Veyron, I'm not looking for a 10 second car, and i don't want "All-American Muscle" either. The car i do want is really expensive and requires some serious work, the difference being that its built for endurance. Im going to say that the average street race lasts a few minutes at most (and most under 30 seconds of "drag racing"), and the cars are made for that, fast, and rather unstable because of it. The average Le Mans is 24 hours and 3000+ miles, a car that can last in a race 500 times longer and about 3000 miles longer. I dont want some suped up tuner that is only good for a mile of high speed racing, but instead one that can take on 3000 of those miles where it performs consistently from beginning to end and is even ready for the next race immediately. It takes time and work to get a car ready for that, I just need the right garage to put in the wrench time.
10-0: One month.
0-8: Two months.
8-0: ?
I guess this wouldn't make a car worthy of Fast and Furious on paper, but it would easily win the most unique competition. I guess in the end I'm not looking for the newest and fastest car thats ever been made, I don't need the Bugatti Veyron, I'm not looking for a 10 second car, and i don't want "All-American Muscle" either. The car i do want is really expensive and requires some serious work, the difference being that its built for endurance. Im going to say that the average street race lasts a few minutes at most (and most under 30 seconds of "drag racing"), and the cars are made for that, fast, and rather unstable because of it. The average Le Mans is 24 hours and 3000+ miles, a car that can last in a race 500 times longer and about 3000 miles longer. I dont want some suped up tuner that is only good for a mile of high speed racing, but instead one that can take on 3000 of those miles where it performs consistently from beginning to end and is even ready for the next race immediately. It takes time and work to get a car ready for that, I just need the right garage to put in the wrench time.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Addicted!
We wont ask how, but i procured a copy of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. Its just as good as i remember it, maybe even better. this will be the only post that i have about the game and my extreme addiction, but ill keep it updated with my awesome accomplishments.
Accomplishments:
Karen:
*Purple Heart on Year 1 Spring 18 (Horse Race)
*Blue Heart on Year 1 Summer 24 (Fireworks Display)
*Green Heart on Year 1 Fall 15 (Her Birthday)
*Yellow Heart on Year 1 Winter 10 (Dog Race)
*Orange Heart on Year 2 Spring 2
*Red Heart on Year 2 Spring 18 (Horse Race)
That completes the cycle from black to red in exactly one year! Marriage will come maybe in the first week of Summer.
Ann:
*Purple Heart on Year 1 Spring 22 (Cooking Festival)
*Blue Heart on Year 2 Spring 0 (New Years Festival at the Summit)
Mary:
*Purple Heart on Year 1 Spring 22 (Cooking Festival)
Crop Totals:
*Year 1 Spring. 122 Cucumbers, 29 Turnips, 22 Cabbages Shipped.
*Year 1 Summer. 75 Pineapples, 67 Corn Shipped.
*Year 1 Fall: 911 Sweet Potatoes Shipped. (approx. 100,000g profit)
Animals:
Dog: Bruin
Horse: Kodiak
Both animals at 10 hearts by Winter 1.
Chickens: Ichi, Ni, San, Shi, Go, Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Kyuu, and Juu (1-10 in Japanese)
Ichi won Sumo contest 19 days after purchase: Golden Eggs.
All chickens with 10 Hearts by Winter 1.
Cows: Hitotsu, Futatsu, Mittsu, Yottsu (One, Two, Three, Four when counting objects)
Upgrades:
Chicken Coop and First House upgrades before Fall 1.
Barn and Second House upgrades before Winter 1.
Its funny going from the most inactive and boring season (Winter) to the most assiduous and organized season (Spring). I'm going from zero crops and an overly abundant amount of time to waste, and still having the ability to go to bed by 6pm, to a season where I'm growing more than I have ever even attempted and not having a moment of freedom and being lucky to get to bed by 11pm. I'm now growing 24 plots of crops, 16 plots of grass, and 16 plots of flowers (actually are needed to get honey and a power berry...) Luckily, grass never needs watering, and the flowers I'm not dedicated 100% to, so they can miss a watering on a holiday. I spent most of last night doing farm math of costs, profits, harvest days vs. holidays, and making a schedule for the important events of the day. Its also the season that I plan on being married in, so I have to juggle presents and visits to up Karen to Red, then propose. The wedding a week later, so I need to plan well ahead and make sure that it doesn't fall on a holiday or a harvest day.
Accomplishments:
Karen:
*Purple Heart on Year 1 Spring 18 (Horse Race)
*Blue Heart on Year 1 Summer 24 (Fireworks Display)
*Green Heart on Year 1 Fall 15 (Her Birthday)
*Yellow Heart on Year 1 Winter 10 (Dog Race)
*Orange Heart on Year 2 Spring 2
*Red Heart on Year 2 Spring 18 (Horse Race)
That completes the cycle from black to red in exactly one year! Marriage will come maybe in the first week of Summer.
Ann:
*Purple Heart on Year 1 Spring 22 (Cooking Festival)
*Blue Heart on Year 2 Spring 0 (New Years Festival at the Summit)
Mary:
*Purple Heart on Year 1 Spring 22 (Cooking Festival)
Crop Totals:
*Year 1 Spring. 122 Cucumbers, 29 Turnips, 22 Cabbages Shipped.
*Year 1 Summer. 75 Pineapples, 67 Corn Shipped.
*Year 1 Fall: 911 Sweet Potatoes Shipped. (approx. 100,000g profit)
Animals:
Dog: Bruin
Horse: Kodiak
Both animals at 10 hearts by Winter 1.
Chickens: Ichi, Ni, San, Shi, Go, Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Kyuu, and Juu (1-10 in Japanese)
Ichi won Sumo contest 19 days after purchase: Golden Eggs.
All chickens with 10 Hearts by Winter 1.
Cows: Hitotsu, Futatsu, Mittsu, Yottsu (One, Two, Three, Four when counting objects)
Upgrades:
Chicken Coop and First House upgrades before Fall 1.
Barn and Second House upgrades before Winter 1.
Its funny going from the most inactive and boring season (Winter) to the most assiduous and organized season (Spring). I'm going from zero crops and an overly abundant amount of time to waste, and still having the ability to go to bed by 6pm, to a season where I'm growing more than I have ever even attempted and not having a moment of freedom and being lucky to get to bed by 11pm. I'm now growing 24 plots of crops, 16 plots of grass, and 16 plots of flowers (actually are needed to get honey and a power berry...) Luckily, grass never needs watering, and the flowers I'm not dedicated 100% to, so they can miss a watering on a holiday. I spent most of last night doing farm math of costs, profits, harvest days vs. holidays, and making a schedule for the important events of the day. Its also the season that I plan on being married in, so I have to juggle presents and visits to up Karen to Red, then propose. The wedding a week later, so I need to plan well ahead and make sure that it doesn't fall on a holiday or a harvest day.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Prophetic
In the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the original false conception come 'true'.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Garber: Taking the Krispy Kreme Challenge
Hey guys, i read this on ESPN and laughed retty much from beginning to end, i thought you might enjoy it, so please do enjoy it.
Garber: Taking the Krispy Kreme Challenge
Posted using ShareThis
Garber: Taking the Krispy Kreme Challenge
Posted using ShareThis
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Successful Facial Transplant
OK, so I may not ever want to be a surgeon for humans, but I did perform a facial transplant of sorts. Last night a very sad and aggravating event occurred, the screen on my laptop cracked in the bottom right corner. It wasn't a complete tragedy, if I needed to, I could survive with the inch of unusable screen. But I didnt want to, so I did a bit of research and found that luckily my old dell and my new HP use the same size and type of screen (type is extremely important... if you mix up resolutions, you can effectively destroy your computer). So I pulled out my tools and performed my first transplant, and a successful transplant at that. That's really all I had to say.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Blogging for Blog's Sake
I literally am only typing for the sake of this blog staying semi-current, not because I have anything profound to say. I have realized that i am the wrong personality for a blog though, I don't freely tell my feelings. This blog then becomes more for recaps on how awesome I, and the things I do are. I guess in the end this will be good at one thing, and that is successful memory keeping. Without further ado, here is a list of notable things.
1. I am caught up with HIMYM now, and i will watch my first episode on its premiere tomorrow night.
2. My brother came home today after his trip to NE, and will be preaching Saturday.
3. Tomorrow I'm going to FCC to have a much needed conversation and head bashing.
4. Tuesday i should be getting a haircut, and i will be losing this precious golden locks, for now.
5. The NCAA tournament is great, I'm very much enjoying it and getting really into it.
6. Sleeping sucks, audio books help. First the Rowlings, then the Meyers, then... well, ill need help with more ideas of good books to sleep to.
7. I plan on getting back into fencing practice, and i made a new friend the other day... I call him Pokey, and I stab him, that's about all he is good for.
8. I am an epic Wiilympian, I held at 3 world records at one time: Javelin, Pole Vault, and High Jump. Its ok to be jealous...
9. I was offered a job, if i had already graduated, by a woman who called me a sharply dressed young man. That was on the same day that someone that could've been my mom said "Good luck, sir." Does that make me old?
10. I'm kinda stretching with my list, i just had seven and wanted to make it ten, so I'm making it ten right now. If you dont like it, do something about it, i dare you.
So now, do me a favor and recommend a few books, maybe even a series of books that would be good to sleep to, I can guarantee the answer is nothing from Steven King.
PS. The Orange Grove has been updated to include the weekend's events, check it out if you wish.
PPS. I am adding this little note with ScribeFire in my Firefox browser just to make sure it works.
1. I am caught up with HIMYM now, and i will watch my first episode on its premiere tomorrow night.
2. My brother came home today after his trip to NE, and will be preaching Saturday.
3. Tomorrow I'm going to FCC to have a much needed conversation and head bashing.
4. Tuesday i should be getting a haircut, and i will be losing this precious golden locks, for now.
5. The NCAA tournament is great, I'm very much enjoying it and getting really into it.
6. Sleeping sucks, audio books help. First the Rowlings, then the Meyers, then... well, ill need help with more ideas of good books to sleep to.
7. I plan on getting back into fencing practice, and i made a new friend the other day... I call him Pokey, and I stab him, that's about all he is good for.
8. I am an epic Wiilympian, I held at 3 world records at one time: Javelin, Pole Vault, and High Jump. Its ok to be jealous...
9. I was offered a job, if i had already graduated, by a woman who called me a sharply dressed young man. That was on the same day that someone that could've been my mom said "Good luck, sir." Does that make me old?
10. I'm kinda stretching with my list, i just had seven and wanted to make it ten, so I'm making it ten right now. If you dont like it, do something about it, i dare you.
So now, do me a favor and recommend a few books, maybe even a series of books that would be good to sleep to, I can guarantee the answer is nothing from Steven King.
PS. The Orange Grove has been updated to include the weekend's events, check it out if you wish.
PPS. I am adding this little note with ScribeFire in my Firefox browser just to make sure it works.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Mother Theory
Robin... Barney... I have seen and heard the mother. You have seen and heard the mother. She has been shown, and i know when and where. Before you play the disbeliever's role, I will give you all the proof. The episode is 312, St. Barney's Day. The time, 13:24. This scene is no accident. Do not skip straight to this scene, watch the episode from beginning to end, and very carefully watch that moment in time. This scene that she appears in proves 2 things: Writers and Editors still love to have fun while making a show. 2nd, Future Ted is very unreliable, if only because of a technicality. Clue 1. The episode begins by talking about how the mother is at the same party as him. Clue 2. A woman bumps into Ted for what seems to be a simple accident. Clues 3 and 4. The episode ends by Future Ted saying, "Your mother was at that party, i just didnt meet her." Clue 1 is a simple trick to give the continuity to the mother story line... to the untrained eye. Clue 2 appears to be an accident... to the untrained eye. Clues 3 and 4 seem to be the "just missed her" ending to yet another episode... to the untrained eye. Clue 1 is meant to draw your attention to the mother story line, and yet still meant as only the tease that it has been in every other episode. Clue 2 is where the real event happens: Shows never film random accidents, there is more that could be done in those 5 "random" seconds that they wouldnt waste, and well writers are pricks that like to show you something you dont recognize, just to do it again and make sure you see what you missed. Clue 3, yet again giving attention to the mother and how she was at that party. and Clue 4, makes the whole rouse complete, by saying "I just didn't meet her" it gives the impression that she and he never crossed paths. But that would be incorrect, they crossed paths, they just never had an introduction, only an apology from both sides. This sadly means that the story of Ted and the Mother, did not happen like Robin, it was not love at first sight, also a wonderful writer's tool. The relationship that does not work but everyone is rooting for, is trumped by the perfect relationship that happens completely differently. She has been found, and she exists for a whole 3 seconds. Enjoy my friends, Partake in my feast of supreme intelligence, it is abundant!
P.S. They felt the episode was so important that they began Barney's blog on the same day.I am LEGENDARY. True Story.
P.S. They felt the episode was so important that they began Barney's blog on the same day.I am LEGENDARY. True Story.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A Message To Barney
Hey Barney, I'm gonna post this until you reply to it, and please reply when you get it. My parents will be going to The thingy at FAA tomorrow, so i can get a ride with them to the school, which will save gas and energy for you. They will be there before noon, so I should easily be able to watch you bleed out on the table... Let me know you saw this by commenting, or I will give you a call after i wake up to let you know that this blog is sitting there waiting for you to see... In summation, I dont need you to come pick me up, and i will most likely be there about the same time as you. Thank you, that is all.
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Orange Grove
Rorschach's Journal:
Thursday March 5, 2009. Robin and I went and played tennis at FCC, where we were later joined by Swarley. We later made an excursion through kawateien. After having a salad pizza, we finally went to our destination, Watchmen. After the nearly 3 hours were over (it wasn't a life changing movie, but it would be worth a matinee) i went home an watched Hero (the Jet Li movie) while packing for LSU.
Friday March 6, 2009. I showered at about four in the morning after not sleeping and then made the excursion to LSU with my Faj. The ride was quite tame, it started with me reading Potter and my dad driving, and at some point I nodded off for about 20 minutes. I awoke to a gas station and a diner-esque breakfast. Buffet breakfast foods are never the smartest idea, but they tasted alright. Afterwards, one of the longest conversations between my dad and I took place, about the economy and politics. It pretty much lasted from the gas station all the way to LSU, multiple hours long. We met up with the brother, and the faj went to a job interview. After watching a wonderful Improv practice, the brother and I drove and got a free craigslist couch for his new appartment. The rest of the day was just hanging out until vespers where Sam gave a good sermonette.
Saturday March 7, 2009. Woke up after 10 hours of sleep to make up for the previous 36 solid hours awake. Then I made my trip to the church to hear a forgettable sermon and an extremely long welcoming ceremony to the new female head pastor. Then it was lunch and hanging out until the One-Acts performance. The plays ran the gamut of quality. The first one that was about angels watching a couple have sex was funny for the fact that some people didnt get it and well, it seemed out of place. The second was beyond dull and dumb. The third got a solid second place for the night. The fourth was good only because the actress was able to keep a robot voice for the entire performance. The fifth was directed by the brother's friend and starred the brother. It was hysterical watching the brother act like a prat and a pansy. After it ended, the drive home began. It sadly didnt go the same as the drive up, its highlights were: Reading and finishing Potter, and stopping at a rest stop where it was cold enough that when i did pee, it created steam.
Sunday March 8, 2009. Robin, Swarley and I (Ted Moseby, Architect) ran through an orange grove, then later marked our territory... Yeah, like that...
Tuesday March 10, 2009. Robin just surprised me with what I've been craving for the last week. Chow Mein and Donuts (Maple Bars). Robin is wonderful. Im glad this story will end differently than the original.
(Rest of blog inserted.)
Thursday March 5, 2009. Robin and I went and played tennis at FCC, where we were later joined by Swarley. We later made an excursion through kawateien. After having a salad pizza, we finally went to our destination, Watchmen. After the nearly 3 hours were over (it wasn't a life changing movie, but it would be worth a matinee) i went home an watched Hero (the Jet Li movie) while packing for LSU.
Friday March 6, 2009. I showered at about four in the morning after not sleeping and then made the excursion to LSU with my Faj. The ride was quite tame, it started with me reading Potter and my dad driving, and at some point I nodded off for about 20 minutes. I awoke to a gas station and a diner-esque breakfast. Buffet breakfast foods are never the smartest idea, but they tasted alright. Afterwards, one of the longest conversations between my dad and I took place, about the economy and politics. It pretty much lasted from the gas station all the way to LSU, multiple hours long. We met up with the brother, and the faj went to a job interview. After watching a wonderful Improv practice, the brother and I drove and got a free craigslist couch for his new appartment. The rest of the day was just hanging out until vespers where Sam gave a good sermonette.
Saturday March 7, 2009. Woke up after 10 hours of sleep to make up for the previous 36 solid hours awake. Then I made my trip to the church to hear a forgettable sermon and an extremely long welcoming ceremony to the new female head pastor. Then it was lunch and hanging out until the One-Acts performance. The plays ran the gamut of quality. The first one that was about angels watching a couple have sex was funny for the fact that some people didnt get it and well, it seemed out of place. The second was beyond dull and dumb. The third got a solid second place for the night. The fourth was good only because the actress was able to keep a robot voice for the entire performance. The fifth was directed by the brother's friend and starred the brother. It was hysterical watching the brother act like a prat and a pansy. After it ended, the drive home began. It sadly didnt go the same as the drive up, its highlights were: Reading and finishing Potter, and stopping at a rest stop where it was cold enough that when i did pee, it created steam.
Sunday March 8, 2009. Robin, Swarley and I (Ted Moseby, Architect) ran through an orange grove, then later marked our territory... Yeah, like that...
Tuesday March 10, 2009. Robin just surprised me with what I've been craving for the last week. Chow Mein and Donuts (Maple Bars). Robin is wonderful. Im glad this story will end differently than the original.
(Rest of blog inserted.)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Zzihdbup: Zbhfpumze
Uz E wyboejiww ljza irpjyh uj bejpu I ekzdyw xvuw uj psbu aju jzef nyhu, uj ykv yk uj zya je rhi fymoudaww yjv ibjdz mu je janzs re ok ykkuob. Rhi me uao irn bkiy jzeh, uaboy ejyfby fyj yibjyzyj bisybnn mu wwi jyke, bu uaboy fyj wyqu mu ok wyme. Uz ru pfje ljza zyku yhjeka, fyj fejrzv fdyvidrre re ok wyme jjif byrij necvyrej ajx jewzw, je eqvvz yk I jxynalz, nfzuwu ze ljza phywurbam evfbj upr, e ki lurvereo vjeryjv da ibwyo rhi uervv uj nfzuwu, rhi fyj uowr yibzru ryre ze heurzbyhny ibwyo ze ynazyix mu fyj jyke jjif e rhy da uervv uj wyyzd. I dont sleep well, actually thats not true, when I sleep, im sleeping just fine, its the getting to sleep that seems to be the problem. Generally I dont get to sleep until about 3 in the morning or later, but it doesnt seem to be a problem. I actually feel pretty good during the day when I get less than five hours sleep. As long as im sitting in the front of history it doesnt seem to even occur to me. Sitting in the back is when it becomes a problem. Speaking of History, my teacher Paul Gilmore is really great and interesting. He doesnt teach by power point, instead he actually talks by memory and actual knowledge of the subject, guided solely by a bare bones outline. This guy really knows his stuff and and loves what he does, and its obvious. Thurston teaches in much the same way, but Interpersonal Communication is a lot less knowledge intensive, and doesnt require quite the same precision for dates, names, and exact events, but you can tell they both love what they do. Stacie-Lee Moore-Mimura is a different character all together, she is a bubbly and beautiful (married) twenty-something woman that likes talking and found that teaching people how to be like her in that sense would be perfect. I think I will have the most fun in that class, Public Speaking has already become the class I speak up most in, and will be doing the most speeches in. Today wass yet another quick and easy speech, simply tell a joke, which is right up my alley. Thats really all thats going on at this point, more to come, probably not coded, but we will see, I need to keep sharp at both reading and writing it.
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