Another Year

And so 2008 comes to an end.

The beginning and end of each year is meaningless, really, in the scope of time. Years turn to decades, which turn to centuries, millenia, billions, trillions, to dust. All is eventually lost, all is forgotten.

But while we are alive, in these few short frames on the reel of time, it is important to stop every once in awhile, and look at who we are. I don't dwell upon the past, to allow myself to keep moving forward. You can't advance with the brakes constantly applied. But, there are times when it's best to slow down a bit, to stay in control. New Year's is one of those times for me, when I examine what I've accomplished, what I've learned, and what I'd like to do in the year ahead.

This year was filled with the best times of my life, as well as the absolute worst. There have been times in 2008 when I've never felt so alive, and times when I would much rather have been gone. It has been mostly balanced, I guess, which I figure is alright. If you looked at my year in sequence, it would appear similar to the progression of the stock market in the past 365 days: a sharp downward trend. For some reason, I always start out on top of the world. But when you're that high up, the only way to go is down, and I have indeed fallen. I guess, with some jest, I can say that literally: on the first day of 2008, I way standing 10,568 feet up on top of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Now, almost a year later, I'm 25 feet from sea level in Sacramento.

Rewind. I remember, very clearly, my New Year's Eve experience of 2007. We had just driven into Steamboat, through a snowstorm, and the clouds had finally cleared, leaving an immaculate layer of weightless Colorado snow. Champagne Powder, as they call it in Steamboat, which is odd because I was coincidentally listening to "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis. It's an airy, thought-provoking song. The moon wasn't full, in fact I believe it was exactly halfway through its phase--just enough to pour a dull glow over the entire snowscape. Blake and I trudged through this unbelievable snow in snowshoes, which worked like iron boots in the powdered sugar, and sat out in the meadow, staring up at a sky blacker and more densely packed with stars than any sky I'd ever seen. The first moment of the new year was signaled by my Uncles' redneck neighbors firing off Roman Candles and revving their snowmobiles. I figured it would be a good year.

It certainly started with a bang...well, two bangs, one good and one bad. The good: four days of skiing in Colorado. The bad: my first cell phone, a nice little Nokiea 6085, now lies forever on North St. Pats, a great double-diamond on the backside of the resort. That set the pattern for the next three-hundred-sixty-some-odd days. This was a year of really good goods and really bad bads. And a couple of 'ugly's.

The good times included, among other things: skiing, the end of Senior year--Senior Ball, Senior breakfast, etc. Grad night was a blast. I got to see friends that I might not see again for a long time. I got to be with family. I graduated high school, and with good grades. I was accepted to every school I applied for, and I nailed all of my SAT scores. I went boating, I went jetskiing. I went to Montreal, I went to New York--I got to travel. I went to college, I made new friends, I aced my new classes. I participated in the election of the first black president of the United States of America. I had some good times.

The best things in life aren't for free. Like Champagne Powder, the high points of my year always seemed to fall through my fingers and give way to the dark, gloved palm beneath. All of the little misfortunes seemed to have stacked up into a great, miserable wall over the past months. Four cell phones stopped working or were lost. I lost some good friends permanently, and some for what I expect to be a long time. Unlucky things happened left and right, to the point where it was beyond noticeable, like someone was intentionally testing my limits. I fell off my longboard on the way to my most difficult midterm, and it nearly knocked me out. I was in mild shock during the test. The day before finals week, my grandfather, one of the closest people to me, had a stroke. He's much better now, but on the day before two of my biggest finals, he nearly died. I got pulled over twice, and for ridiculous reasons. I became much less patient, and much more suspicious of people. I was depressed for much of the Summer, for some reason. I think it was because of the emotional cocktail ensuing graduation. I like to embrace change, but too much of it is like shock therapy. By the beginning of this Winter Break, I almost cracked.

On top of all of that, there were a few 'ugly's...you know those things you just turn your head on. Failed relationships. Severe personal problems that I can't even mention. I nearly died twice on the slopes. I still think it is important to acknowledge even the worst experiences in your life, because if you can't be honest with yourself, you are lost. You have to know where you stand.

To sum up 2008: things have changed. My Uncle's house, that house there on 36 acres of priceless untouched ground in Steamboat Springs has since been foreclosed upon. I am now in college. Things have changed. For better or for worse, I have yet to determine. Perhaps I never will. Things are constantly changing. They will change in 2009, 2010, and in all the years to come. For now I think it should be good enough to accept what has changed in the last year, and open myself to what is to come.

And so 2008 comes to an end.

And so 2009 begins.

Bring it.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
-Barack Obama

Current Mood: Pensive

Listening To: "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis

& "I Believe" by R.Kelly

Lyrics?

I've been doing​ a bit of writi​ng in recen​t month​s,​ as you can see from the blog.​ Appar​ently​ the brain​ is most creat​ive at night​,​ which​ may accou​nt for the explo​sion of writi​ng over the summe​r.​ Or possi​bly it was the bizar​re combi​natio​n of emoti​ons from gradu​ation​,​ colle​ge,​ and.​.​.​other​ thing​s.​.​.​that can accou​nt for part of it. I don'​t know.​ I used to hate writi​ng,​ loath​e it actua​lly,​ until​ this past year.​

Anywa​y,​ I haven​'​t poste​d anyth​ing on the blog for awhil​e which​ is due to the fact that first​ly I moved​ the blog (​link at the botto​m)​ since​ Myspa​ce blogs​ have been glitc​hing like hell,​ and secon​dly that I haven​'​t had time to do a whole​ lot. Anoth​er reaso​n is that most of what I have been doing​ is under​groun​d,​ meani​ng I'm not total​ly comfo​rtabl​e shari​ng it. BUT, I've been doing​ a lot of lyric​s compo​sitio​n (I'd write​ the whole​ damn song and produ​ce an album​ but I'm terri​ble at writi​ng music​,​)​ and would​n'​t mind getti​ng a littl​e feedb​ack.​ I have no idea what it would​ sound​ like,​ so I guess​ for now it's just poetr​y.​ Be forew​arned​:​ a lot of my lyric​s thus far are prett​y soft,​ but I'm worki​ng on some heavi​er stuff​ well.​ This is one I did in the last 4 hours​,​ what do you think​?​



Sunli​ght falls​ like rain
On a day so fille​d with life
Plann​ing for the futur​e,​ no time for the past
Do you ever stop and wonde​r,​ how long it may last?​

You seem to act like you don’t​ care
Why do you prete​nd?​
How can you not be aware​?​
All good thing​s come to an end

The red orang​e glow
Slips​ benea​th the purpl​e hills​
In to the dark and out of sight​
As your last day fades​ to night​

Just anoth​er day of days
As your heart​beat slowl​y dies
Think​ing back on how it’s been
Memor​ies reviv​e
When good thing​s end

~ ~ ~

Two heart​s beat in the shade​
In a summe​r fille​d with love
Looki​ng in each other​’s eyes,​ lying​ in the grass​
Do you ever stop and wonde​r,​ how long it may last?​

You seem to act like you don’t​ care
Why do you prete​nd?​
How can you not be aware​?​
All good thing​s come to an end

The last leave​s fall
The shade​s of autum​n fade to grey
Words​ canno​t say how much you miss her
Conqu​ered by the cold of winte​r

Just anoth​er world​ of pain
For the gold times​ you now yearn​
Think​ing back on how it’s been
Lesso​ns learn​ed
When good thing​s end

~ ~ ~

The snow is thawi​ng
Off the ridge​s of your heart​
The pain is dulle​d,​ you lose the sting​
As the coldn​ess melts​ to sprin​g

The days of life,​ the seaso​ns of love
They all arriv​e,​ they all depar​t
But all your troub​les you will soon mend
Since​ good thing​s start​
When good thing​s end

Night​ fades​ into day
Winte​r fades​ to sprin​g
There​ is alway​s hope
When good thing​s end



I shoul​d menti​on that this is unoff​icial​ly copyr​ighte​d,​ meani​ng that if I see anyon​e perfo​rming​ this word for word I'll go onsta​ge and rip their​ balls​ off. And if they don'​t have any, I'll rip them off anywa​y.​

Current Mood: Creative

Listening To: "Time to Move On" by Tom Petty

I'm A Nineties Kid

What a trip...this is from a group I found on Facebook--


You're a 90's kid if:

You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"

You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House"

You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

You remember reading "Goosebumps"

You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"

You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.

You danced to "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, Females: had a new motto, Males: got a whole lot gay-er. (so tell me what you want, what you really really want.)

HELLO....HOT WHEELS!!!!!
http://www.clutterme.com/cars

You remember the craze, then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.

You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? was both a game and a TV game show.

You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.

You remember when super nintendos became popular.

You remember watching home alone 1, 2 , and 3........and tried to pull the pranks on "intruders"

"I've fallen and I can't get up"

You remember boom boxes vs. cd players

You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool

You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
http://www.clutterme.com/sbtb

You played and/or collected "Pogs"

You had at least one Tamagotchi, GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere

You watched the original Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Ninja Turtles

NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS WERE THE BEST MYSTERY BOOKS

Yikes pencils and erasers were the stuff!

All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.(pencils.notebooks.binders.etc.)

You made paper scrunchies to see who you'd end up marrying
http://www.facebook.com/add.php?api+key=c7427d30bb17fa5df85a4fc74752d00e

You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.

You used to wear those stick on earrings, not only on your ears, but at the corners of your eyes.

You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

You know the Macarena by heart.

"Talk to the hand" ... enough said

You thought Brain would finally take over the world

You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"

You remember when everyone went slinky crazy.

You remember when razor scooters were cool.



When we were younger:

Before the MySpace frenzy...

Before the Internet & text messaging...

Before Sidekicks & iPods...

Before PlayStation2 or X-BOX...

...Back when you put off the 5 hours of homework you had every night.

When light up sneakers were cool.

When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.

When gas was $0.95 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing.

When we recorded stuff on VCRs & paid $3.50 for a movie.

When we called the radio station to request songs to hear off our walkmans.

When the Chicago Bulls were the best team ever.

Tag.

Get Over Here!!!! means something to you.

Hide-n-Go Seek at dusk.

Red Light, Green Light.

Heads Up 7 Up.

Playing Kickball & Dodgeball until your porch light came on.

Hopskotch.

Tree Houses.

Hula Hoops.

Captain Planet.

Running through the sprinklers.

That "Little Mermaid"

Crying when Mufasa died in the Lion King.

Happy Meals where you chose a Barbie or a Hot Wheels car.

Getting the privilege to sit in the front seat of the car.

Drinking Sqeeze It "Squeeze The Fun Out Of It"

Or what about:

Hey Arnold.

Rugrats.

The Secret World of Alex Mac.

Rocco's Modern Life.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Doug.

Magic School Bus.

Aladdin.

Pinky and the Brain

Sailor Moon.

Blossom.

Beavis & Butt-Head

Wishbone.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

MR RODGERS!!!!

Where everyone wanted to be in love after watching The Wonder Years.

Under the Umbrella Tree

PEE-WEE!!!

The Big Comfy Couch

Kool-Aid was the drink of choice.

Class field trips.

When Christmas was the most exciting time of year.

When $5 seemed like a million, & another dollar a miracle.

When you begged to go to McDonalds for dinner everyday.

When Toys R Us overuled the mall.



Go back to the time when:

Decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'.

Money issues were handled by whoever was banker in 'Monopoly.'

Being old referred to anyone over 20.

A chance to skate as a couple at the local roller rink was like winning the lottery.

When Ninja Turtles ruled the world.

When Aladdin was new, before the trilogy was complete.

Before we realized all this would eventually disappear...

Who would have thought you'd miss the 90's so much!!!!!

Current Mood: Reminiscent

Listening To: "Savannah Fare You Well" by Jimmy Buffett

"Change Has Come to America"

Congratulations to Barack Obama for becoming the 44th President of this Great Nation, and unmeasurable respect to John McCain for the indescribable sacrifice he gave for that same Great Nation.

Change truly has come to America.

Current Mood: Ecstatic

Watching: Obama Acceptance Speech

Max Payne

I had to write a movie review for a movie released after October 1, so I went and saw Max Payne. Here's the review:


Max Payne is an explosive action flick, but like the soul of Payne himself, something seems to be missing. Payne is a film packed with fire and demons, lead and smoke, but perhaps lacking the adhesive intrigue to hold it all together. It is, however, a film that delivers a strong performance that is enough to keep the audience from walking away feeling like 100 minutes have been thrown down the disposal.

Silent snowfall envelops the back-alleys of New York City, a setting that is an oddly placid contrast to the action-packed plot of the film. However peaceful, the constant flurry of snowflakes adds to the cold, unforgiving feeling radiated by the black, narrow corridors of the urban grunge. The seemingly lifeless metropolis evokes an eerie sentiment more reminiscent of Chernobyl than of the “City That Never Sleeps.” The absence of life and color is a consistent theme in Payne. The exception of several strategically placed scenes cheerily filled with warmth pierces through the drear and provides relief to a storyline as malicious as Dark Knight, though thankfully not nearly as long.

The story of detective Payne is based loosely upon the 2001 videogame of the same name. Although the plot was not taken verbatim, the abundance of violence certainly was. It dances on the thin red line of a “Restricted” rating, and received a PG-13 mark solely due to the low(er) doses of blood. It is, however, heavy as lead in substance, and only for audiences who can stomach the sinister atmosphere. Captivating for the most part, the plot is at times a bit too much, and confusing. However, it is innovative enough to be distanced from the run-of-the-mill action production, and the holes in the plot are sloppily spackled over by astounding action.

Much of the cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking. A number of Matrix-esque shots slow time while boosting your heart rate (reminiscent of the “Bullet Time” effect in the game,) distracting the audience from the confusion of the botched storyline. This is the type of cinematography that leaves a lasting impression, with certain shots lodged in your head like the shards of glass discharged by the explosive action sequences. Payne’s bullet-dodging explosiveness is enough to make even John Woo drool. The marriage of the intricate visuals with the decent acting performances equates to an above-average film from a technical standpoint.

The casting is in some cases bizarre, but the number of exceptional performances blends together to form a believable interpretation of the plot. Mark Wahlberg’s own turbulent past and gruff appearence makes him a perfectly shaped piece to complete the intricate puzzle of Max Payne’s character, and he played the role to a T. Mila Kunis plays a surprisingly convincing role as shady character Mona Sax, considering the lighter roles she played in That ‘70s Show and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, among other things. The menagerie of silver screen talent also includes Nelly Furtado, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and soon-to-be Bond girl Olga Kurylenko. All performances are limestone: solid but perhaps a little bland.
Payne is a somewhat gripping sex-and-violence piece, without the sex and double the violence. Max Payne was dubbed “A man with nothing to lose” in the game’s tagline; moviegoers have nothing to lose by seeing it, but perhaps not too much to gain either, give or take some reasonable action.

Current Mood: Bitchin

Listening To: "Walk Away From The Sun" by Seether

Controversial Survey

I've been meaning to post my in-your-face political propaganda-filled beliefs on the blog for a while. This survey was the perfect excuse-- love it or hate it, here they are:


[01] Do you have the guts to answe​r these​ quest​ions and re-​​​post as The Contr​overs​ial Surve​y?​​​
Are you challenging me?

[02] Would​ you do meth if it was legal​ized?​​​
Hell no, meth is messed up shiznit.

[03] Abort​ion:​​​ for or again​st it?
Eh, I'm not FOR abortion, not like, "Hey let's go get some soda pops and an abortion." But I'll use the politically correct phrase: "Pro-Choice." Sounds happier doesn't it?

[04] Do you think​ the world​ would​ fail with a femal​e presi​dent?​​​
No. Many females are very capable of leading this country. However, with Palin: epic fail. Everything dies.

[05] Do you belie​ve in the death​ penal​ty?​​​
"Grand pappy told my pappy back in my day, son
A man had to answer for the wicked that he'd done
Take all the rope in Texas
Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys
Hang them high in the street
For all the people to see"

"Beer for my horsesss..."
Yeah, Toby Keith answered that one for me. But you make sure you got the right ones, and string 'em up quick, before they waste my tax dollars rotting in federal slammers.



[06] Do you wish marij​uana would​ be legal​ized alrea​dy?​​​
It has been legalized. Do you know how easy it would be for me to go and get legal weed right now? I assume you mean 'legal-legal' as in '7-11 legal,' in which case I don't believe so. Keeping it illegal largely prevents people from smoking it in public, and doing things that they shouldn't do while stoned, like pissing on the sidewalk. Like alcohol, I can get it if I really want to.

[07] Are you for or again​st prema​rital​ sex?
I don't care. Your decision. I don't really believe in sex for the sake of sex. In my case, I roll with the tides, take things as they come. So to speak.

[08] Do you belie​ve in God?
There is something greater than human. God is one name for it. I guess you could say I believe in God, but not in religion. No religion is entirely correct. Most religions are at least half insane. Every religion has valid points, and every religion has points that are written like poor fiction. But yes, there is something 'out there.'

[09] Do you think​ same sex marri​age shoul​d be legal​ized?​​​
No and Yes, but you have to be careful. For example, putting "Partner 1" and "Partner 2" on the marriage license request form is ridiculous. Perhaps not calling it 'marriage,' but they should have all the benefits of a regular marriage. Remember that sexual 'preference' really isn't a 'preference' or lifestyle choice, but a biological setting. Unless you're bi or trans, then you're just fucken weird.

[10] Do you think​ it's wrong​ that so many Hispa​nics are illeg​ally movin​g to the US?
Yes, get the fuck out. I don't care what the circumstances are, wait in fucking line. Pay for my roads, my utilities, my overpaid Senators, and then you can live in this country. Until then, stay out. And LEARN ENGLISH. I lived in Switzerland, and I learned French, so you can have the etiquette to learn English HERE.

[11] A twelv​e year old girl has a baby,​​​ shoul​d she keep it?
TWELVE!? Good grief, that's disturbing. This really depends on the circumstances: rape baby? Rich parents? etc. Whatever is in the baby's best interests.

[12] Shoul​d the alcoh​ol age be lower​ed to eight​een?​​​
No. It wouldn't change anything.

13] Shoul​d the war in Iraq be calle​d off?
GTFO. Ten billion a day, it's the main cause for the economy failure.

[14] Assis​ted suici​de is illeg​al:​​​ do you agree​?​​​
Undecided, really...I guess.

[15] Do you belie​ve in spank​ing your child​ren?​​​
No. If you're a poor parent and can't control your kids anyway, it doesn't make any difference.

[16] Would​ you burn an Ameri​can flag for a milli​on dolla​rs?​​​
As an Eagle I can do so with the proper procedure. Yes. I like Blake's idea of donating the million to veteran's associations.

[17] Who do you think​ would​ make a bette​r presi​dent?​​​
I don't have much against McCain, I would probably have voted for either of the current candidates in 2004. However, with the 10B spending per day in Iraq, I want out. So Obama obviously fits the bill.

[18] Do you think​ Obama​ will be kille​d?​​​
There is a possibility of any high-ranking political figure to be assassinated. Obama has a higher chance, which hopefully will be balanced by increased security.

[19] Shoul​d child​ preda​tors be force​d to wear signs​ ident​ifyin​g thems​elves​?​​​
Signs? No.

[20] Are you afrai​d other​s will judge​ you from readi​ng some of your answe​rs?​​​
I don't care.

Current Mood: Tired

Listening To: "Baby I Love Your Way" by UB40

S * N * O * W: Part II

Less than a week ago we had a nice littl​e storm​ move throu​gh South​ Lake that put a few inche​s of power​ down.​ I was excit​ed,​ but every​one said "oh, no, it'​ll all melt away.​"​ I beg to diffe​r.​ Not only did it not melt away since​ it has been below​ freez​ing at night​ for the past week,​ but a secon​d storm​ is movin​g throu​gh today​,​ and layin​g down even more snow.​

Borea​l has start​ed snowm​aking​,​ which​ to me is the offic​ial start​ of the ski seaso​n.​ Sierr​a even poste​d weath​er data,​ which​ is kind of shock​ing since​ they norma​lly don'​t updat​e anyth​ing on their​ websi​te until​ Novem​ber.​ And Heave​nly,​ as you can see in these​ webca​m image​s updat​ed a few minut​es ago, is getti​ng enoug​h preci​p to call this a "​signi​fican​t"​ snowf​all:​







I have a feeli​ng this is the base we'​ll be shred​ding on all seaso​n.​ It's ten degre​es colde​r in San Jose than it was yeste​rday,​ I think​ the weath​er is shift​ing into a more Winte​r-​y gear.​ Bring​ it on.


I'm going​ to go take a math quiz and think​ about​ skiin​g.​

Current Mood: Insanely Stoked

Listening To: "Lost?" by Coldplay

S * N * O * W

I expec​ted an early​ seaso​n this year,​ but not froze​n preci​p this early​.​ It is curre​ntly forty​-​five degre​es and raini​ng stead​ily in South​ Lake Tahoe​ at lake level​,​ with a chill​ facto​r to 39 degre​es.​ Above​ 7000 feet there​ is snowf​all.​ Expec​ted lows in the twent​ies at night​ this week,​ which​ means​ Heave​nly will be kicki​ng in the snowm​aking​ prett​y soon.​ Anoth​er storm​ expec​ted next weeke​nd with more snowf​all above​ 7000 feet.​ This is good news not only becau​se there​'​s snow in Octob​er but also becau​se Calif​ornia​ is despe​ratel​y low on water​,​ Folso​m Lake and other​ reser​voirs​ are down up to 30 feet and were close​d entir​ely to boats​ for the summe​r.​

This is the first​ signi​fican​t preci​pitat​ion since​ mid-​March​,​ that'​s almos​t 1/2 a year with zero rainf​all.​

It wasn'​t suppo​sed to be a reall​y cold storm​ becau​se it's the remna​nts of an Asian​ typho​on (for those​ of you that don'​t track​ weath​er,​ typho​ons are hurri​canes​ which​ survi​ve on solel​y warm water​,​)​ but it seems​ to have coole​d off enoug​h in the Pacif​ic to produ​ce some white​ gold.​

First​ snowf​all of the year,​ Octob​er 4th. If we can get a good storm​ once a week with artif​icial​ snowm​aking​ tempe​ratur​es at night​,​ I'll be skiin​g on Hallo​ween,​ regar​dless​ of what parti​es are going​ on.


WINTE​R IS KNOCK​IN and I'm going​ to open the door.​ Who'​s ready​ for an epic seaso​n?​

Current Mood: Really Stoked

Listening To: "The End" by The Doors

Clouds

It's the first of October, and although it's still warm, it is the first CLOUDY day of the season. I love it, it's a nice change of pace. And given that it's going to be fifty degrees and raining in Tahoe on Saturday (that's less than 20 degrees above freezing,) I think we're in for a good season.


October 1. I think we're in for a good year.

Current Mood: Stoked

Listening To: "Human" by Big City Rock

Mexicans

I went to bed really late last night, figuring I could get up at the usual 11:30, grab breakfast, or lunch or whatever the hell meal that would be, and go to class.

Early this morning I was dead asleep, an earthquake couldn't have awakened me. But I suddenly went into this odd dream. You know those dreams when everything is black, you don't see anything, but you just hear voices? Yeah, one of those. Anybody that hits mushrooms knows what I'm talking about. Anyway, it was a really bizarre dream, because all the voices were in Spanish, which is odd because unless my subconscious retained it all, I don't remember anything from the four years of Spanish I took in Middle and High School.

Then I heard banging, like an odd knocking sound, a lot like someone was knocking on the door. I sort of woke up, because I remember staring at the wall. The dream continued though, I kept hearing the voices...wondering what the hell was going on. Keep in mind that we're on the seventh floor up here, not like any voices from down below would carry without a megaphone, although it would not surprise me in the least if some asshole was using one in the quad that early in the morning. I looked at the clock: seven AM. At that point I was wide awake, and I was wondering what in the blue fuck was going on. I wandered over to the window in my boxers, and opened the blinds.

I nearly screamed. Three Mexicans with squeegees were staring straight at me. Now that I think about it, I vaguely recall a notice being taped to the door that said something about window washing. But God dammit, when you open the blinds to you seventh-floor window, that is the last thing you'd expect to see. It was really agitating that they were talking that loudly so early in the morning.

I'm laughing my ass off as I'm writing this, but this morning I got oh so close to having a stroke. Damn Mexicans. At least my windows are squeaky clean, so my binoculars will pick up the chicks in the room across the quad.

Current Mood: Amused

Listening To: "Wonderwall" by Oasis

Musiq

This is what I do when I'm bored. I was running through my forty gigs of music, and decided to compile a playlist of all my favorite songs. These songs either have some meaning to me, or are just really good songs in my eyes (or ears rather.) Tonight's lucky number is 15, so in no particular order, here are my top 115 songs and top 15 all-around artists:


Top 115 Songs:
Free Fallin by Tom Petty
Fields of Gold by Sting
More Than A Feeling by Boston
Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart by Against Me!
Talk by Coldplay
Learning To Fly by Tom Petty
29 Palms by Robert Plant
Boys Of Summer by Don Henley
Old Man by Neil Young
Dance The Night Away by Van Halen
Going To California by Led Zeppelin
Telegraph Road by Dire Straits
I Don't Wannt To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith
Something To Be Proud Of by Montgomery Gentry
Drive by Alan Jackson
Absolute Reality by The Alarm
Human by Big City Rock
Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan & Tom Petty
Jungleland by Bruce Springsteen
Heaven by Brian Adams
What Is Love by Haddaway
Hide And Seek by Imogen Heap
Hurt by Johnny Cash
The Highwayman by Willie Nelson
Make Love In This Club by Usher
Plush by Stone Temple Pilots
The End by The Doors
Beautiful Day by U2
Top Gun Anthem by Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Stevens
Whiskey In The Jar by Metallica
Domino by Genesis
Please Remember Me by Tim McGraw
American Girl by Tom Petty
Man On The Moon by R.E.M.
Forever Autumn by The Moody Blues
The New York Times by Everclear
Hurricane by Bob Dylan
Tangled Up In Blue by Bob Dylan
One Headlight by The Wallflowers
Don't Stop Believing by Journey
These Are The Days of Our Lives by Queen
Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
Downtown Train by Rod Stewart
Dub In Life by Eiffel 65
Wrapped Around Your Finger by The Police
Manhattan Project by Rush
Lucky Man by The Verve
Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses
Bama Breeze by Jimmy Buffett
Scare Easy by Mudcrutch
By The Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers
When You Were Young by The Killers
My My Hey Hey by Neil Young
Counting Blue Cars by Dishwalla
Rhymes & Reasons by John Denver
What You Know by T.I.
The Weight by The Band
East Side Story by Brian Adams
Seven Wonders by Fleetwood Mac
Baba O' Reily by The Who
Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel
Jeremy by Pearl Jam
Tunnel of Love by Bruce Springsteen
By My Side by INXS
Kody by Matchbox 20
Let It Be by The Beatles
Forever by Chris Brown
Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder
Out Of My Head by Fastball
Take A Picture by Filter
Into The West by Annie Lennox
Hold On by Good Charlotte
Lips Of An Angel by Hinder
Zelda's Lullaby by Koji Kondo (I know, I know…)
Mr. Moon by Mando Diao
Medal Of Honor by Michael Giacchino
Photograph by Nickelback
Champagne Supernova by Oasis
Amazing Grace by Ray Charles
Can't Stop by Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Zephyr Song by Red Hot Chili Peppers
She's So High by Tal Bachman
Slow Motion by Third Eye Blind
Fall To Pieces by Velvet Revolver
My Block by Tupac
Ghetto Gospel by Tupac Ft. Elton John
Time Of Your Song by Matisyahu
Apollo 13 by James Horner
The Clincher by Chevelle
Driving The Last Spike by Genesis
Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day
No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley
Mexico by James Taylor
It'll All Work Out by Tom Petty
Savannah Fare You Well by Jimmy Buffett
Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
Foreplay/Longtime by Boston
Brothers In Arms by Boston
Magic by The Cars
In The Evening by Led Zeppelin
Girls In Their Summer Clothes by Bruce Springsteen
Porcelain by Moby
Blue On Black by The Kenny Wayne Sheppard Band
Incomplete by The Backstreet Boys
Midnight In Montgomery by Alan Jackson
Higher by Creed
Have You Ever Seen The Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival
All Along The Watch Tower by Bob Dylan
I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab For Cutie
Take It Easy by The Eagles
Wind Of Change by The Scorpions
One Last Breath by Creed
Ship Of Fools by Robert Plant
Brand New Day by Forty Foot Echo


Top 15 Artists:
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Boston
Sting & The Police
Coldplay
Bruce Springsteen
Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits
Bryan Adams
Phil Collins & Genesis
Van Halen
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Robert Plant & Led Zeppelin
Guns N' Roses
Neil Young / CSNY
Chevelle
R.E.M.

Current Mood: Bored

Listening To: "Human" by The Killers

Into The WIld

There are material days. I have a lot of those days, days when I'm glad I have several thousand dollars in the bank. On those days I'll get up in the morning and check the stock market, check my credit account payments. I'll admire my car, and the parts I have installed on it. Then I'll sit and write a list of all the parts I need to install, because the car...just needs them. To be faster, louder, shinier...just better, in my convoluted, contemporary mind. On those days I'll spend some time online searching for something I need. A new pair of skis, LEDs for my car, bushings for my longboard. Or maybe on that particular day I am looking for a new sweatshirt, 60 dollars from Quiksilver. Or posters for the dorm, five dollars each. I need those things. I need money. Things, money, things...it is a poisonous circle.

The truth of the matter is, on those days, I am not truly searching for anything. Typing in a few words and hitting enter does not constitute a true search. I know that what I am looking for is already there, I am just uncovering it. Like that car you know is somewhere in the parking lot..."search" for it by hitting the alarm, and there it is. I don't need that thing I am trying to find, either. In the years since the hard, cold existence of mankind as a primitive species on this Earth, the meaning of "need" has been diluted and fragmented by our "sophisticated" tastes. It is only when we are forced to revert to that "...most ancient of human conditions..." that we rediscover the real signification of "need."

Today is one of the days when I am able to see this. On these kinds of days, I am able to see past the metal and plastic of the material world, past the cashmere suits and German cars and cold, hard cash. Rather than "searching" for the Xbox game on Amazon, I search for truth and reason. "Rather...than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth." These are the days that I stay up late writing, because I am able to break free from the blind, material life.

"What is wrong with you?" you may ask. "What are you smoking?"

I just watched "Into the Wild" for the second time. The first time I saw it was right around graduation, and it changed me. After seeing it again, I think I can fairly say it has changed me even more. It is, I believe, a highly romanticized, Sean Penn version of what really happened. This is indescribably ironic, that the truth of the circumstances surrounding Chris McCandless's death be distorted when, in real life, truth is what he was searching for. But, in any case, I respect his goal and determination to reach it. Chris made mistakes. He was unprepared, and this untimely led to his untimely death. Although I never would have embarked on his journey and made those mistakes, I see his point.

To really find the meaning in life, you need to look past material. Past the grid of city streets and orange lights, the cars and the smog. Sometimes for the irreversibly lost souls, you need to go to the ends of the Earth to find it, to the great Alaskan wilderness. But for the everyday person, sometimes you need to search no further than within yourself.


"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
— Chris McCandless






No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.

Current Mood: Blank

Listening To: "Hard Sun" by Eddie Vedder

A Really Good Day

Usually when you expect and hope for the best, something comes up from behind and knocks out your teeth. Likewise, when you're really pessimistic, good things happen. Funny.

For example, I thought this week was going to SUCK. I had a ton of work to do on Sunday night, and was not looking forward to any of it. Instead it's been one good thing after another. First I had a Communications speech due on Monday, wasn't excited for that. All of the speeches were only kind of average. I had practiced for five minutes, and my other two group members and I had only exchanged a few e-mails. The first guy stood up and nailed his part, the second guy nailed his, and then I gave a gripping conclusion. The professor stands up and says:

"You know, I dread listening to Engineers speak. They're terrible speakers. But these three guys are all Engineers and they absolutely nailed it. It was flawless. Outstanding job."

One down. Next was my first English essay. Since I had joined the class late, everyone else's essays had been graded when I handed mine in. The professor said, "These papers were all very solid, with good ideas, but the execution needs a lot of work, so I DIDN'T GIVE ANYTHING HIGHER THAN A B." He gave NO A papers at all, none. But he graded mine while we were doing some classwork, and we picked up our papers on the way out of class. Mine said:

"A+ idea, B+ execution. A overall, very good."

I was going, "uhhh....what?" I did not just get the only A paper in the class. Yes I did. PWNED. Two down.

Third was supposed to by my first math mid-term. I didn't study at all. I showed up to class, and...the entire floor of the Computer Sciences building where my class is was completely roped off by caution tape, with a bunch of cops hanging around. I still don't know what happened, but the test got pushed back to Friday. I had an extra day to study, so I stayed up until two watching movies. Friday I got on my longboard to go to class, hit a curb, and completely fucked up my arm. I walked into class in slight shock, aced the mid-term, left, and went to sleep.


I had three huge goals this week and absolutely blew them out of the water. I wish every week was this awesome. Maybe next week I'll...nevermind. Have a good weekend.

Current Mood: Luminous

Listening To: "Thrash Unreal" by Against Me!

September 11

Sometimes I really don't like this country. I don't the people who run it, who argue and bicker and backstab and lie to themselves, to each other, to the American people. But there are several days in the 365 chaotic, politically explosive days of the year that I put all of this nation's flaws in the back of my mind.

On those days, I'll go and get myself a big juicy American cheeseburger with American cheese, American ketchup, and American mustard. I'll get a big bowl of American coleslaw and completely disregard the number of calories or the percentage of my daily saturated fat intake it contains. To wash it all down, how about a tall, cold glass of American Coca-Cola? And to finish it off, a perfectly swirled American vanilla ice cream cone. Today is one of those days.

It disturbs me how few people remember. I've questioned several people as to whether or not they know what today is. "Thursday?" It is only partially true that time heals all wounds. For the most part, each passing day fades the overpowering emotion and the shock, like sunlight fading that old blue couch in the living room. That is, for those who watched it on TV, who read about it day after day in the newspapers for several months. But after it had fallen off the back pages of the New York Times and Washington Post, people went back to their daily lives and it became a thing of the past.

There are those, however, who will permanently retain that wound, a wound that time can coat with dust but never heal entirely. Those are the people who physically saw it happen, who heard the unusually loud roar of the GE CF6-80C2 engines driving the Boeing 767-200ERs down Manhattan Island and onto every television screen worldwide. They felt the heat of the burning jet fuel, breathed the dust of crushed concrete & shredded paper. They ran with their own two feet from the collapsing buildings, and then back into the cloud to help their coworkers and friends, their brothers and sisters, people they didn't know.

A day will come far in the future when the final first hand memories will be extinguished by time, when the very last of those witnesses passes on as did 2,999 of their fellow Americans on September 11, 2001. At that time, the true terror of that day will be nothing more than another chapter in the history books. December 7, 1941 has seen the same decay of sentiment as the years have gone by and the number of survivors has dwindled.

Everybody still remembers 9/11, but not with the vivid horror as they did three to six years prior. For me, the twenty-four hours linking the tenth and twelfth of September always reignite the smoldering embers of pain from the attacks. I cannot forget. Every ninety-six seconds, a jet passes over downtown San Jose, descending into SJC international. Every single one of the seven hundred some-odd planes flying low over the tops of the buildings today has sent chills down my spine. I have been there, where those buildings once were. I have been to the Pentagon. I cannot forget. I have heard the tapes of their voices, in panic and in pain, from the horrified pedestrians on the pavement on Fifth Avenue to the Northwest corner of the 105th floor of Tower one, where Kevin Cosgrove and two of his colleagues stayed on the line with an emergency dispatcher until their final screams were silenced by the catastrophic structure failure 102 minutes after impact. I have seen the videos from the mobile command post in the lobby of Tower two, where the firefighters bowed their heads at each sickening crash, signaling the end of another life, a businessman unable to bear the heat of the fire above. I will not forget them.

I have a fifteen minute speech to write about videogame addiction, some studying for math, and a two page paper to compose on politics. Not today. I refuse to politicize anything on September 11; it is not a day to be political. I'd love to debate about the Iraq war and Sarah Palin, the election and the lack of evidence of a jet fuselage at the Pentagon attack, but not today. Today, like every 365th day for the past seven years, I will set aside everything to simply reflect on that day, and how lucky I am to be where I am now. Hopefully, you can find it in you to find a moment, maybe two, in your day to stop and do the same.

It was an unusually clear day. The sky was a deep, deep blue…seven years ago…

Current Mood: Sad

Listening To: "Please Remember Me" by Tim McGraw

English 1A

I just had class from 6 to 9 again, and God alfuckinmighty that's a long time to sit in one desk. It's like two SAT subject tests every Wednesday.

English 1A. Professor is also a middle school teacher, I believe, and he is probably the best teach I have now. He's a Liberal jackass, which is fine because I don't care what end of the spectrum people are on, although I'm pretty far left as well. We are supposed to write an essay on politics and the candidates for the upcoming election next week. Some quotes from his lecture:

(Disclaimer: These do not all reflect my own ideas, but they're still hilarious.)

"She (Palin) is better than Hilary, according to the Republicans. They say it's because she's an actual woman, she wears a skirt and not those pant-suit things like Hillary."

"They know she'll get votes because she's female. Regardless of anything else, some women in this country will go, 'Gee, she (Palin) has a vagina, I have a vagina...I'll vote for her!"

"There were three kinds of people that watched Woodstock. There was *my* parent's generation, and they were going 'Holy shit, this is appalling...kids running around nude with facepaint on LSD...' There was my generation, 14-years olds like me thinking 'AWESOME. I wish I were five years older...' And then there were marketers. And they said, 'Oh look, 500,000 kids with money. Why are we selling to their parents, why don't we sell to them?'"
...
"So that's why everything is marketed to you. When I grew up I was a kid in an adult's world, now I'm an adult in a kid's world. Everything is marketed to you. Why? Because they're not going to sell colorful underpants from Victoria's Secret to your grandmother. You have the money. They don't care about her. She has the VCR that keeps blinking...12:00...12:00...12:00..."

"Yes, the average lifetime has increased. So McCain may indeed live another eight years. But, keep in mind, he just might die tomorrow. And then Palin will be President. And then I'll kill myself."

"Palin believes that the best way to prevent pregnancy is to do what we're doing right now. NOT having sex. And we're doing a fine job, I might add."

"Palin said that she believes in doing it the right way: getting married, then starting a family. That is exactly what she did, she got married, and had her first kid 8 months later."

"Do you know why Bush is president? Okay, I don't mean to offend anybody, but it's really quite simple. Bush is president because of a blow job. Because Clinton's zipper was a little bit too loose."

"You know what I said to that whole fiasco? I don't care. I mean, if you're the President, and you can't get laid...you're pretty sad."

"They were so busy getting Barry Bonds, they forgot about Osama Bin Laden."

~~~~~~~~

Like the class wasn't good enough to begin with, he left halfway through for a full hour so we could grade each others' essays. Then, this huge, HUGE black dude walks in, like 7 feet tall. He starts telling jokes. Bad jokes. For twenty minutes, this monstrous black guy is telling crude jokes to our English class. Example:

"Man, I was in London, right? I asked the guy at the Pub...they don't have Restaurants, man, they got Pubs...if I could have a cup of black coffee. He was like, (with black-British accent) 'we don't have any coffee sir, we have three types of tea. Earl Grey, which is 20% substance and 80% aroma, Green tea, which is 80% substance and 20% aroma, and English tea, which is preferred.'

So I said, 'man, it's jus' like that in America! We got three kinds o' tea. F-A-R-T, which is 20% substance and 80% aroma, S-H-I-T, which is 80% substance and 20% aroma, and C-U-N-T, which is preferred.'"


I was cracking up, not at the jokes, but just because this random ass black guy was sitting there on the table at the front of my English class, telling jokes. For 20 minutes. Then the Professor Shapiro walked back in, and the guy asked him to sign a paper to drop a class he didn't teach.

~~~~~~~~

Weirdest class of my life, but I'm still laughing. Going to be a good semester in English 1A.

Current Mood: Amused

Listening To: "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd

The First Week

A week.

I've been in San Jose for a week, plus or minus a few hours. It feels like I've been here for years, or at least months. I know where everything is, the weather, the schedule, the people, everything. It's really weird, almost scary.

Summer, summer summer...BAM...college. No transition whatsoever. At 1130 last Saturday I was in Pleasanton, at 1300 I was in San Jose. But I didn't even notice. High school student to college student in seconds. I had no emotion, at all. Leaving home, leaving parents, no emotion. New friends, exciting new place, no emotion. I guess I'm really adaptive...I've always thought you need to roll with the changes, but the total apathy of the fact that my life is 100% different is something I did not expect.

Anyway, THIS PLACE IS AWESOME. I can get out my longboard and ride around in the summer heat at 3 in the morning. I can play loud music until 10, when the RA kicks in the door. I can do homework whenever, 24-7, party until midnight and work until 4. I can wake up whenever the heck I want. ULTIMATE FREEDOM.

But I don't abuse it. I'm very pleased to discover that the morals and goals I set a long time ago have not faltered at all. Some of them have even strengthened. I have turned in all of my work, and have a 4.0 GPA (which is a good start, but doesn't say much since it's still the first week.) In the one week I've been here, I have not had a single drop of alcohol, a single cigarette, or a single puff of hookah. Why are hookahs so popular, I don't get it. Because they're legal and not quite as harmful, I guess. I'll have a few bottles now and then, but I've pretty much determined that I'll usually be the DD, rather than getting flat-out hammered and waking up in the middle of the quad with two fat chicks on top of me (TRUE STORY by the way, from one of the RAs.) I'm happy with my status so I'll keep it status quo.

And HERE is a run-through of my new life thus far:

~

*DORM ROOM:
My room is outstanding. I'm on the top floor of the seven floor CVC building (which is entirely Freshman.) I have a huge desk with two drawers and a file cabinet, four enormous drawers under the bed, a full armoire, and a full closet. There are eight closets total, two for each of the four rooms. Two bathrooms, four sinks, two showers, and a lounge. Broken down, thats eight of us, two to each room and sink, four to each shower / toilet.

The bed is extraordinarily comfortable, air conditioning is great. Windows open most of the way, and don't have screens which makes it possible to throw water balloons out of, which some kids have already been busted. I have a view of the quad and the CVB building, which is 15 stories and houses the upperclassmen.

The lounge for our suite is a hotspot. We have four blacklights with posters of Bob Marely, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, snowboarders, Subaru WRXs, and whatever. Super Nintendo, N64, and 32" TV. The TV will be a 50" plasma pretty soon, and we're upgrading to an Xbox. We have two turntables, a mixer, iPod hookup, and a 5 speaker / 2 woofer system, which is FUCKING LOUD. They turned it all the way up last week and the RA from the third floor kept running around until he found out where it was coming from and yelled at us. We have an enormous refrigerator, which barely fits the size constraints. Finally are the red string lights in the window, which can easily be seen from anywhere in the quad.

We have tons of people filing through here. We hit 23 max, and our limit is 24. Our room number is 724, and our rep on campus is that we're 24-7 (get it?) Everything is in regulation, but we made sure to push everything in the limit. Nobody has been drinking in here due to the 2-strikes-expulsion rule, but they come up here after they get drunk, so it's a party room anyway. Pretty dope. Apparently the kids last year also called it 24-7 but were totally out of control--you can tell by the dents in the walls--they said they had 54 people in the room (well over twice the limit,) and I don't have the faintest idea how they fit that many people in here without having some standing in the toilets.

Anyway, room is dope.

~

*ROOMMATES:
Roommates are cool. My roommate is Andrew, who is from Truckee. We have some things in common, like to ski/board, want to play drums/guitar, like Rock.

Actually it's really odd how everything worked out. Every single one of the eight of the us likes the same general kind of music, like the same kind of sports, etc. I'm the only one that doesn't really drink much. All of us are from the Bay Area except Andrew and I think Rob, who is from Sacramento. We usually agree on everything from sports to politics. Most are engineering majors.

Names are Andrew, Blake, Rob, Adam, John, Aaron, and Nick.

~

*CAMPUS
This campus is absolutely incredible. It is fairly small, 6 blocks by four blocks. It's entirely flat, which is amazing for boarding, biking, or skating. Four of us bought longboards on Tuesday, so I think everybody in here has a board now. We are about a mile and a half from Walmart, couple of blocks from 7-11, and some other stores. We are smack in the center of Downtown San Jose. Three blocks from Cesar Chaves park, where the famous Fairmont hotel is located and they hold free concerts and such. The Tech Museum is across the street from the park. HP Pavilion is about a mile away as well, bordering the Business District.

The classes take me about 10 minutes max to get to, especially on the board. Might be a little longer when it starts raining. Everything is easy to get to, long straight pathways. Complete opposite of UC Santa Cruz, which is like a damn maze in the trees.

The cool thing is that we're urban, but we have problems that only come with urban areas. For example, at any given time, there are at least three hobos with shopping carts out hunting for whatever it is that they hunt for. If I ever go out after dusk I carry a fatty bottle of pepper gel, which burns like no other. We've had a bunch of people get jumped around here, to the South and East. That is where the kind-of-ghetto residential area is, North and West is all business and is pretty clean. After about a mile of going south through a housing area, it is all industrial, which is where our football stadium is (the SJ Earthquakes play there as well.)

~

*FOOD:
Oh my God, this place is like a 4 star restaurant. You can eat three times a day, just walk in and swipe your ID, and then it's ALL YOU CAN EAT. There's a Mexican place, Asian, American, and Italian, and they change up the dishes every couple of days. Huge drink bar area with 8 types of juice, including Guava (pinch me), sodas, Cappuccino and Coffee / Hot Chocolate, milk, ICEE things, and some sparkling juice things like Apple Cider and whatever. In the morning they have like a million types of cereal, omelets, breakfast burritos...words cannot describe this place.

There are also several restaurants on campus where the ID card can be used like debit-- Subway, Starbucks, and Burger King to name a few. We also have some little convenience stores to use the ID cards at, so I can buy protein shakes before I work out for three hours. With all of this free food I'm taking in as many calories as possible, and then working it all off. I'm going for a full diet on the food pyramid, with emphasis on meat. We have a pool, track, and a full gym so I intend to gain the Freshman 15 while everybody else is afraid of it. Except my F15 is going to be all muscle...I'm aiming for 30 extra pounds by the end of the year. I'm tired of being skinny and really white. I'm going to be buff and really white.

~

*FACILITIES:
Really good facilities. There is a full kitchen and huge TV in the floor lounge down the hall, so I can go bake a cake and eat the whole thing. The laundry room is on the first floor, but the God damn machines don't have locks so you have to sit and play with your dick for two hours while the dryer is running.

In the building next door there are pool tables and foosball tables, and a full computer lab where I can steal paper. The internet blows like a hurricane, so I'm going to have to go pay 250 bucks for the high-speed upgrade. The entire campus is wireless, except for the dorms. Eric and I bought a Linksys and are trying to put up a shared secure network, but the Linksys is fighting me tooth and nail. Seriously, it refuses to work. I asked it nicely and it spit at me, so I threw it at the wall. Then it put me in a headlock and...nevermind. The wireless isn't working yet.

The athletic facilities are in good shape. Like I mentioned earlier, there's a huge pool with lanes and a diving section, a full gym, racquetball and basketball courts, four ice rinks, a pool room, ping-pong room, and a bowling alley. Yes, a bowling alley. The ice rinks are where I will be taking my hockey class, which is going to rock my socks off. They are owned by San Jose State and are on the same block as our football stadium (athletic complex is a mile away from the main campus,) but are operated by the San Jose Sharks organization. The Sharks practice on our rinks, pretty sick.

I think that's it for facilities, except our labs which I haven't even been in yet, but are supposedly top-notch (SJSU is consistently rated one of the top engineering schools in the country.)

~

*CLASSES:
My classes are amazingly awesome. I am currently taking PreCalculus (Math 19) and workshop (Math 19W), English 1A, Mechanical / Aerospace Engineering 15, Communications 20 (a public speaking class), and Ice Hockey, for a total of 16 credits. The reason I'm an engineer in PreCalc is because I last took that class Junior year, and didn't understand everything because Mrs. James was an imbecile. Nice person, but did not get the point across.

The PreCalc professor is an Indian lady named Mrs. Bodas. She should have taken the comedian route rather than becoming a teacher, she's hilarious. The assistant that runs the lab class is also Indian, and speaks with a heavy accent at a thousand words per second.

The hockey class is basically going to be 2.5 hour open ice sessions every week, which is going to be totally radical. Dude. Not sure who the "professor" for that class is quite yet.

I haven't had the English or Comm classes yet because I just signed up for them (I've rearranged my schedule more times in the past 7 days than I've been able to keep track of.) For Engineering we have no homework outside of 8 1-page writeups, no book, no tests, and no final. The teacher is a Spanish guy named Barez, who also has a sense of humor. You have no idea how rare it is to find an Engineering professor, or anybody in Engineering, with a sense of humor. For that class we will taking a number of field trips and have a bunch of guest speakers come in. This is why I am at San Jose State for engineering, and why we are so well known for it. We have hundreds, if not thousands of business connections in the industry, since we are in Silicon Valley. And in any business, engineering in particular, it isn't just what you know, it's who you know. The first day of class, this is what he said:

"No longer can you graduate with a 4.0 GPA and say "Hey General Electric, come and hire me, Ford, come and hire me." It doesn't work like that anymore. You need connections, the field is all about connections now, it's called networking. And that is what we are going to do, build resumes, create connections, find internships."

He is exactly right, and this is why I will have a job, let alone a high-paying job, before anybody else who is majoring in engineering, especially aerospace engineering. We have a field trip to NASA Ames in two weeks.

~

*WEATHER:
It has been warm 24-7 since I got here. Very pleasant at night, mid to upper seventies. During the day it has been in the upper nineties, which is abnormally hot for San Jose, and not very fun. We have air conditioning, but one of the dorm buildings does not. On average the weather here is mild, 5-10 degrees cooler than Pleasanton when it's hot but a few degrees warmer in the winter, because of fog cover.

~

*GIRLS:
There are a lot of girls here, you could've assumed that. Most of them have already been in our dorm. Actually that's probably an unfair exaggeration, but our room is definitely popular. Nothing yet from me, because I am still too shy and picky, as you may know. I'm hoping I'll be able to open up a bit, without turning into a drunk raving asshole that rapes every fuckable object at the Frat parties. Because that's just not me.

~

*PRANKS:
I haven't really done anything interesting yet, especially to Eric who will retaliate with full force. I'm planning though, oh yes I am, and whatever hacks I pull off are going to be of M.I.T. caliber. If you don't know what that means, M.I.T. kids are geniuses who have too much time on their hands, so they manage to pull off prank stunts that aren't destructive, but people remember them because they're so outrageously clever. For example, disassembling an entire server rack in an engineering lab and rebuilding and wiring it back at the Frat house and putting it online. Or deconstructing an entire police car and putting it back together on top of a building. We will see.

~

*SKIING:
I had to add this, because one of the reasons I am in San Jose is because I ski. I'm not even kidding, if I had to go to school in southern California, I would crack. NO SNOW. ANYWHERE. It's the same here, for now. Everybody in my suite snowboards, which is better than nothing, I guess. There are snow-related posters on the walls, ski and board magazines everywhere, and I'm about to lose it because it's not even September.

When winter comes, I will be skiing. Lots. Anybody who wants to hit the slopes, let me know and I'll be glad to give you a ride up in the Scion, so you can help me pay for gas a little bit, keep me awake, and admire my interior lighting.

~

All in all, a good first week. Topped off by the fact that we just beat UC Davis 13-10 in the first football game of the year. People are out screaming and partying in the quad, horns honking everywhere. I feel like I'm back in New York.

I hope you've all enjoyed the first taste of your college experiences, or will once you begin. Keep in touch.



✌ & ♥

kdawg

Current Mood: Chill

Listening To: "Writing to Reach You" by Travis

Last Day

Today is my last day in Pleasanton. I'll be back for winter break, and next summer, but it won't be the same.

I wanted to soak up every passing second of time left here. It's funny how you don't realize what you have you realize it's slipping away. You never know where you're from until you leave. Pleasanton has been good to me in the past twelve years, overall. It's been a ride.

The only place where time can be stopped or even reversed is the mind. Last night, that's where I went. I decided to rewind 4,438 days to June of 1996 and relive my time in Pleasanton, watching my memories through the windshield of my car.

Before I pulled out of the garage I stood in the street and took a long look at the house I've lived in. The same house I've come back to after a vacation in Barcelona, where I ran to from the bus stop after school in the pouring rain, where I played four square on the sidewalk, soccer on the grass, and Starcraft in the loft. Several meters away is Aubry's house.

I remember walking across the street in the summer heat to knock on the door and see if he could play. The glass door would always be unlocked, and on the comfortable warm evenings the glass was replaced with a screen. Scott would come down on his GoPed, and we'd play Zelda O.O.T., Mario Party, and Roller Coaster Tycoon. In the later years we had some great Halo parties in the garage. In front of his house is the street light that I knocked the glass out of when I threw a basketball at it, the same street light that I would later stand under when waiting for the Jeep to go skiing at 5 AM.

I turned my attention to the far end of the street, by the cul de sac where all of the street hockey games used to be years ago. Fourth of July parties and amazing fireworks were down there too. The whole neighborhood came out and watched the display. We had a ton of '08 kids around here, Aubry Conley across from me, Scott Baggett & Katie Carlstrom down a little further, Courtney Gangnuss across the intersection. Plenty of others used to be in the area, Antonella Janero, Matti Watt, Jaclyn Pang, Janelle Larson, T.J. Barkdull, Tay Centell, Caroline Lowry, Cory McDonald...I can't list 'em all but would like to. Some have moved, some have stayed, but I remember them all.

Got in the car, pushed in the clutch, shifted into reverse, and drove away. I'll be doing that again tomorrow, but I won't just be going out for a drive.

If you go down Tassajara towards Blackhawk quite some ways, you'll come to Highland Road. A dusty, winding two-lane through the hilly terrain of North Dublin, Highland is where I've gone to get away from my problems or to think about how I can fix them. This time I drove below the speed limit, taking in the golden light spilling over the hilltops. I had The Eagles playing, the best music for double-yellow cruiser roads.

"Dont let the sound of your own wheels
Drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Dont even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
And take it easy"

It really allows you to open your mind and let your troubles blow out the windows, drowned out by the sound of the engine and Don Henley. It lets you just kind of...take it easy. Couldn't be more fitting.

I spent over an hour and a half just driving. I turned whenever I had the urge to turn. When I felt like speeding up, I gassed it, and when I felt like slowing down I eased up. Ultimate freedom, no plans, no schedule, nowhere to be and nothing to do. No one else in sight. I ended up around Las Positas, and took the freeway home.

When I got back back I had a nice lasagna dinner. Damn good lasagna. Went to Jenelle's house for a few hours to chill with some other kids that are leaving for the Cal State schools tomorrow. Watched the Olympics for a while. I still wanted to go drive around some more so I left at around 1 AM.

...
Alisal

First place I went was Alisal. That is where it all started for me in this town, first grade in Mrs. Gould's class. I met a ton of kids there, I still know everyone in that class bar three or four. First person I met in class was a guy named Matt, he moved to Monterey at the end of the year, as I recall. Second person I met was Ben Anderson. Ben, Justin Maslana and I would play Star Wars out on the playground. Jessica McKinley was Princess Leia. I think it was Ben that got in a fight with some kid one time, and ended up with sand in his eyes, that sucked. It was a good single year there, though, we had a pajama party in class on a Friday night one time, that was awesome.

...
Mohr

The reason I say single year is because at the end of the year most of us moved over to Mohr. That's where I drove next. Mohr was awesome...I remember taking the tour there in the summer of '97 before it opened...everything was brand new. Those were the four square and tetherball days. I sucked at tetherball. Four square was sick, we always had crazy slam moves that usually ended with someone getting nailed by one of those red rubber balls. In fifth grade I drop-kicked one across the playground and it bashed Tom Morris on the head. That is the closest I've ever gotten to getting the living shit beat out of me. We're friends now, he lives in Alabama.

Soccer was cool too, soccer and football out on the field. Kris Stambaugh was playing goalie one time and managed to kick himself in the face, one of the most hilarious things I've seen to this day. I'd race Tay Centell out on the field too, but he'd usually kick my ass. He's in Southern California now. Also out on the field we had field day at the end of every year, when it'd usually be 50º and windy even though it was June. Everybody would end up totally drenched.

On the basketball court is where we had P.E. with Mr. Maz. Our class was incredible, most of our physical fitness test scores are still unbroken records posted on the wall in the multi-purpose room. McDonald, Lowry, Sweeney, Starkey, Hadlock...all records yet to be shattered. Maybe they were doping. After a game of capture the flag (the best game in the world, by the way,) Mr. Maz would shout "NEVER SMOKE." The whole class would reply "YES SIR." Most of us kept our promise.

Most of my teachers there have retired...Annen, Steyart, Crawley, Parker. Parker is the only one still working, I think, she's a principal at one of the other Elementary Schools here in Pleasanton. We were her last class, and that was, by far, the most awesome class I have ever had. Second floor of the then-new building, with a view of the quarry lake behind Martin, down at the East end of Mohr. That was the year we first had band, and DARE (although I never liked Officer Batoy, he never called on me.) Outdoor Ed. I could write a book on Outdoor Ed, so I'll just keep it in my head for now. It was hardcore for me, since the week before we left I had a major injury. I was running the bases in Scott Baggett's backyard when we were playing wiffle ball, and I caught my toe on a metal post stuck in the ground (they were re-doing the backyard.) It sliced down to the bone, so I did every hike at camp with six stitches and one of those goddamn boot things.

I remember graduating from Mohr, I felt kind of the same way I do now. I sat on the field and looked at my school for a long time, and then walked home down Martin on the new walking path. It was a hot day, mostly clear. I was unsure of middle school, but the best was definitely best to come.

...
Harvest Park

I drove back down Stoneridge and headed for Harvest Park. Now that I think about it, I had some pretty damn good times there. The first day of school I showed up in front of Ms. MacCleoud's science class (she was a real bright one, she gave us the answers to the tests BEFORE we took them.) There was a really tall kid standing there with a high-top haircut. I walked up to the door and all he said was "RENOB."

"What?"

"RENOB!"

"Uh..."

"RENOB. It's boner backwards..."

That was first impression of James Peters.

In sixth grade we had all kinds of new stuff to deal with. P.E., where everybody loathed running the mile every three weeks. Now they run it weekly. Band, getting up at six every single day. About two weeks into 6th grade I got up one Tuesday and when I went downstairs, my mom was sitting silently in a chair staring at the TV, with her hand over her mouth. I will never forget that look. When Blake's mom picked me up I didn't say much until we got to school. "Two planes have hit the World Trade Center towers in New York. They're about to collapse." They didn't believe me. Blake realized that I was very serious when three, five, ten other people said the same thing. They fell to the ground while we were running warm-up laps. That changed me forever.

Also in sixth grade was the laptop program. Gatehouse, Lars Hegstrom, Alex Kato, K.W. Kim and I went into Ragsdale's room every day at lunch and played adrenaline-filled games of F/A-18 Hornet and Bolo. Eventually, Ryan Brody and some other kids joined the crew. We'd all be cussing each other out, yelling across the room. The laptop classes were freakin epic, with Raimondi and Robeck. We had endless problems with the damn things, but it all worked out. Halfway through the year we moved all of Raimondi's stuff from the portables into the new room, where she still teaches. Robeck assigned 60 problems of Pre-Algebra a night, and it almost killed half of us. He had barbeques out on the blacktop for kids that got A's on the tests.

Seventh grade was even cooler, because we had the Medieval Fair, where everybody duct-taped up plastic swords and armor and beat the shit out of each other. That was serious gladiator stuff right there. Also in seventh grade, Ragsdale got some new eMacs, so Gatehouse and Hegstrom and I basically skipped a whole day of school to set them up. We installed Jedi Knight on all of them, I still have a copy of that game that Ragsdale gave me. He retired a year early because of his Parkinsons, moved up to Sparks, near Reno. I'll catch him on AIM every couple of months. For english, I had Mrs. Wilder, who was passionately despised by most of our class. She made Lizzy Harford cry when she sent a few of us to the office for forgetting to print an essay.

I still go back there every year, with Scott, to teach "boot camp" to the incoming sixth grade laptop kids. We do two five hour sessions to train the kids, and a two to three hour session to answer all of the parent's questions. We've been back I think five years, built up some serious connections with management at Apple, where I think I might end up working sooner or later. We just did it again earlier this week.

We had Ms. Kennedy for eighth grade, who was a great teacher. Now she goes by Mrs. Valentine, and is on maternity leave for the second time since we graduated. One time she lost one of the fish in her fish tank, so some of the kids made up "LOST FISH" posters and taped them up around campus. She found the fish buried at the bottom of the tank a few weeks later. On the last day of school, K.W. was agitated that he got a B+ instead of an A, so he smacked his huge Korean forehead into the glass door, shattering it. Ms. Kennedy was laughing but he still got a referral on the last day of school.

Eighth grade was also cool because in the winter, after our last class (Physical Science with Mrs. Jones,) Blake and I would go to Cassandra's bakery over by the Hopyard and get Lemon Tarts and Hot Chocolate, and then sit in his mom's car and play SNOOD on our laptops until his sister got out of dance practice. Good times.

Graduation was alright, but at the end of the three years of middle school I will still a nerdy little white kid. I wore a clip-on tie to the graduation commencement ceremony. That started to change at Amador.

...
Amador

Spinning my wheels over to Amador, where the parking lot was dark completely dark, I thought about the last four years. I've done that a lot this summer. The place has already changed, with the portables in a different place, the parking lot slightly re-worked, and those completely useless security cameras hanging off of the buildings.

I have too many memories at Amador to list them all, but there are some that stand out. A few weeks into Freshman year, a bird dumped on my backpack. I was pissed. At lunch that day, Joe Falls spilled a cup of marinara sauce on it (from the Dominoes breadsticks that they don't have anymore.) I was really pissed. Then, on the way home from the bus, Aubry decided to pick up a stick and smack my backpack with it. Of course, that was the only damn stick on the planet with a half-eaten peach stuck on the end of it, so I got peach glop on my backpack. I was furious. When I got home my backpack was like a cesspool with straps, it was disgusting.

I remember the football games. The one we one against Foothill in, I think, Sophomore year was when everybody jumped the field and I got buried under the mosh of football players and fans on the 35 yard line. Epic.

Sophomore year I had Tofanelli, which is when I met Eric Miller. Every day he'd come in and grab Matti's enormous sunglasses and Katie Gellerman's Starbucks, and walk around looking like Paris Hilton. By third period, he'd already had three Monsters so he was always wired. Now I have to deal with him at SJSU. I had Ekstrom too, that was funny. Ronnie Buckley, who I hadn't really talked to since the Mohr days, and Jeff Squire sat next to each other and wouldn't shut up. Ekstrom put them across the room, and they started using sign language and throwing things. Ekstrom would turn around and a barrage of Starburst wrappers would by flying over his desk. Aswin Kolady was there, too. One day when we were taking a vocab test, Aswin, who sat in front of me, tied my shoes to the desk. I got up and fell flat on my face. I have to laugh at it now, pretty sly prank.

Junior year sucked, except for Emerson's class and hippie day or whatever the hell it was called. Emerson literally shouted his lectures at us since he is deaf in one ear. We all got the notes, though. Aswin, Topher Mitchell, Andreas Rodriguez, and I all were in Hanson's Comp Sci class, and we'd all send each other our code on e-mail and play pocket tanks and DX Ball. I think I did a total of around ten days of work the whole year, and skidded by with an A-. He was a big star after the streaker hit the field during one of the rallies, since he was in the pursuit team with Scarpelli. That was the only time I've ever seen Scarpelli run, when he was going after that naked dude. He was a good coach though.

I ran track Sophomore and Junior year, and it was completely miserable. I loved it. "Pain is temporary, pride is forever," that was the quote on the back of our T-shirts. I won a couple races, ran 100M, 200M, and 400M. Unfortunately I had to drop out Senior year because I was having severe knee cartilage problems. I'd rather keep my knees till I'm 90, so I can keep skiing.

I don't need to explain much about Senior Year, it was amazing. Everything from Senior Picnic, when it was nut-shrinking cold, to the last night of high school, Grad Night, was just perfect. Experiences of a lifetime, indeed.

But it's all gone now.

...

All gone. I left Amador and drove downtown, and up Foothill, around to places I've been to so many times over the years. Good memories from all of them. After about an hour I headed home with only a quarter tank of gas. Time is infinitely more valuable than money, though, and my drive wasn't a waste of time, so I don't care about wasting the money on 3/4 drink of fuel.

It's all over now. Summer is ending again.

I'll let you on something kind of personal. There's a tradition I have had for years. Each summer, on the last day before school starts again, I sit on the highest peak of my roof, and listen to a song. One song. It is called "Boys of Summer," by Don Henley. Some of you may have heard the version by The Ataris, but I like Henley better because it's a slower, more apt tribute to another summer gone by:

"Nobody on the road,
nobody on the beach.
I feel it in the air,
The summers out of reach

Empty lake, empty streets,
The sun goes down alone.
I'm driving by your house
Though i know that you not home...

...

Out on the road today
I saw an AV sticker on a cadillac
A voice inside my head said don't look back
You can never look back

I thought i knew what love was
What did i know
Those days are gone for ever
I should just let them go and...

I can see you
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You know your walking real slow
Smiling at everyone

I can tell you
My love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone.

...

Now i don't understand what happed to our love
Now baby gonna get you back
Gonna show you what i'm made of...

I can see you
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got your top pulled down,
Radio on baby

And i can tell you
My love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone..."


Why this song? The lyrics carry a sad parting with summer, with friends, or someone else, and with memories that you just can't let go of. As I leave for college, they are shockingly close to my own situation. This next and final evening, I will sit up there on top of the roof that has covered my for the past decade, listening to Henley formally close the last summer of high school. I will watch the sun set, and with it, my past.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Tomorrow I will be in my seventh floor dorm at San Jose State. It will be an odd change of direction, having not moved for over twelve years. I'll definitely miss all of you, and all of my experiences here in Pleasanton. But I was born in Silicon Valley, though, so in a way I am leaving home to come home. I will be back to where I am truly from, surrounded by the hills of gold. Bittersweet. Bittersweet Symphony, this life.


The boys of summer are gone. I am gone. I'm free, but alone.


We're in college now.

So let's do this. Bring it.

Current Mood: Adventurous

Listening To: "The Story" by Brandi Carille

Bucket List

Life from here on out is going to be like trick skydiving without a parachute. Free falling is inexplicably awesome, as is life. At the end of both is certain death. So I'd best get started on pulling as many awesome stunts in the air as I can before I hit the ground.

A bucket list is a must to set goals for yourself, goals that you need to achieve to complete yourself. I myself am only a fragment of who I want to be when I leave this world, so I should get working. I'm separating this list into "Achieved," "Average," and "Challenging" goals. Some of them may never be reached, because they are lifestyles that contradict one another, but I'll call them "Challenging" because IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING.I will continually update this indefinitely as I reach these goals and add new ones:

Achieved Goals:
-Wear chromed aviators daily :-D
-Go 100mph+ in a car (We hit 132.4mph in the Cadillac on Stanley)
-Drive 100mph+ in a car (My record is 108.6mph in the Scion on Highland)
-Ski A Double-Diamond
-SKi out-of-bounds at a ski resort
-Run on a Track Team
-Win Track races
-Land a 40 foot ski jump
-Break 50mph on skis
-Go backpacking
-Stand on a mountaintop and watch the sunrise
-Become an Eagle Scout
-Obtain High School diploma
-Find at least 1 person I can trust
-Ask someone out (regardless of the outcome)
-Go for a 5 hour walk in the middle of the night
-Own a tuner (goal from the old Need For Speed Underground days)
-Waterski
-Play ice hockey & watch a hockey game
-Make a wish on a shooting star (I saw 78 in two hours in Willets, CA...and made the same wish on all of them)
-Swim at least a mile continually
-Become a half-decent writer
-Have a H.S. crush
-Go to Las Vegas
-Go to New York


Average Goals:
-Meet Glen Plake and have him sign my face (and skis)
-Skydive from at least 15,000 ft.
-Get a Bachelors Degree
-Heli-Ski the Alps & Alaska
-Get married
-Have a family
-Travel to Japan
-Travel to Africa
-Travel to Germany
-Write, sing, produce an album and perform it live
-Learn to play guitar
-Become an advanced drummer
-Meet John Glenn
-Break 100 mph on skis
-Land a 55 foor ski jump
-Do a front flip on skis / do a whole bunch of stunts on skis
-Bungie Jump
-Go to a Tom Petty Concert
-Go to a Mark Knopfler Concert
-Go to a whole lot of concerts
-Do a backflip on dry ground
-Live in New York for a year


Challenging Goals (I can dream):
-Find that 'someone,' who also thinks I am that 'someone'
-Fly a military jet at Mach or higher
-Become a Marine Officer
-Become a Marine Officer Fighter Pilot
-Get a Masters Degree
-Win a gold medal in the Olympics
-Go to all 7 continents
-Fly in Zero G
-Go to space
-Stand on the Moon
-Act in a movie
-Produce &/or edit a movie
-Work for Warren Miller or Teton Gravity
-Work for Apple

Current Mood: Busy

Listening To: "Believe" by The Bravery

One Week

College.

Some of you have already left, some of you have a few weeks of Summer to go (you lucky bastards.) As for me, I have one week left in the fast-dying days of youth-hood in Pleasanton. And as the final hours wither into dust, I'm realizing that I've never had such a bizarre cocktail of emotions.

I've never been so ready to leave, but I've never been so reluctant to do so. I've never wanted so badly to meet new people, but I've never been so hesitant to leave old friends forever. I want to be somebody amazing, and I want to be myself. Maybe they're the same thing.

When two sides of yourself face off and contradict, you are in limbo, walking the thin wire between the towers of your former and future self, at risk of falling and losing your identity. It seems odd because my College career is set in stone and I'm all packed, but I still feel like I don't know where I'm going.

It's like filling your bags with your memories and going to the airport...buying a ticket to nowhere, to anywhere...you'll figure it out when you get there. How long will you stay? Who knows. Who will you meet? You will see. Where will you go from there? Who will you go with? Only time can answer these questions. But they will never be answered until you get there, because time is always a step ahead of you.

I don't care how organized you are, or how detailed your plans are for the next two years, or four, or ten...there is always the fog of uncertainty that keeps you from knowing exactly how the game plays out.

I'm going to spend this last week seeing and talking to as many people I care about that I can before I leave. I will only be 30 miles away from here, but we will go in different directions to different places, and our lives will be different. Some of us will be at Community Colleges, some at 4-year Universities, some directly into the workforce. The truly honorable will be fighting for our country.

For the past 13 years many of us have gone to the same schools with the same teachers and the same rooms. We've walked the same halls, been to the same football games, the same lockdowns. Now, for the first time, we will no longer start in sync. The gun has yet to be fired, but some of us have already left the blocks, and some will wait longer. But we are running the same race, against time. We are no longer in the same place but in relation to the scale of this universe, we are still right next to each other. Same stars, same sky.

So now, I bid you auf wiedersehen, until I see you again. But remember that we aren't really as far apart as you think. Call me if you ever want to talk about anything. I always have been, and will be, someone that anybody can trust.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. I wish you all good luck in this new beginning. This is the next chapter in your unfinished book. Don't spill the ink-- have fun but don't be stupid. I don't want invitations to anything but weddings and birthdays until I'm at least 40. No funerals! That goes for all of you Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, too, dammit.

Most importantly, enjoy life.



I've got adrenaline in my veins, spikes on my feet. Down in the blocks, looking at the ground. Finger on the trigger. SET..........


...and here...we...go..............






peace & love forever,

K2

Current Mood: Weird

Listening To: "Call to Arms" by Angels & Airwaves