Gotta take the good with the bad

I literally just turned 24 and I already I feel like I am starting to become cynical. Case in point - I refuse to make New Year's resolutions. I've had "learn the piano" on there since 2007 and my keyboard in my room continues to gather dust.

With that said, it doesn't mean I don't have goals for the new year. It's just that I don't want to look at it it as "I am only doing this because the last two digits whenever I write down the date has changed." More like: "I need to lose weight and get in shape. So that's what I'm going to do."

Last week, great things were happening to the people around me. Very recently, one of those great things took a terrible turn for the worst. I just don't understand. People can be absolute saints and still shitty things will happen to them. And yet complete scum of the Earth live the good life. It's not fucking fair.

And I know it's a tease, but I can't really go into the details. But I feel good about that above paragraph. Just needed to vent it.

So as to not be a downer, let's try to end on some positive vibes:

*I am really liking my job

*I saw my dad this past weekend and I feel like we are getting closer. I really like it and I only wish it would have happened long ago.

*I will show up for work on Christmas Day, then come home and put some clothes in a suitcase, maybe get a few hours of sleep, then by Sunday evening I will be in South Dakota with my family. I can't wait. I need to be there.

Wordless Wednesday: My Senior Prom

In a recent post by Allison, she put a prom-themed playlist and showed a picture during her prom, or grad, back when she attended. At the end, she challenged us to share our pictures. Challenge accepted. Let's get ready to travel back 5 years in time.

Most of the guys posing outside

My date and me making our entrance

Stole somebody's glasses for a pic. Thought it elevated me to baller status.

Gettin the party started

w/ Shedrick

Hey, you know her

with my sister

The chick in high school that I always wanted to date, but never got the chance

Frisco. The Man.

Chillin at the "after party"

Looking at these pics brings up a lot of stories. Maybe they will make for some good posts one day...

Wordless Wednesday: Band of Brothers

*I promise you guys, these are my legit brothers. We just have different dads...

**I thought I had some from when we were little. But I guess they've disappeared :(

***We live in different states (them = Cali, me = Bama) so that's why I have so few pics

My spring break, 2006

Greeting me at the airport after my HS graduation, 2005

Thanksgiving, 2007

Sacramento stop of Warped Tour, 2005

Jammin out when I stopped in Modesto during our cross country road trip, 2009

Raging Waters in LA, 2005

Their graduation (they are twins), 2008

I'm Caught Somewhere In Between Alive And living A Dream

So yesterday had some terrible/great weather. Terrible for the same reason it was great -- the rain was pouring down and it was the kind that when it hits your window, it just makes you want to stay asleep. Unfortunately, I did and missed the first class of the day, but it's the end of the year so oh well. But I made it to my second class only to be chewed out (not me specifically, but the entire class) by my teacher, and it felt awful. You know how when you are little, at times the guilt trip lectures from your parents sucked more than if they actually did something? That's what yesterday felt like. He was basically getting onto us for still making the same mistakes and not learning from them. This was a Reporting class, the major for 98% of us in there, and he flat out said that he has told people that have asked that he would not recommend some of the people in the class. That we would be a waste of time. Of course he makes you think to yourself "surely he isn't talking about me" and not to be big headed, but I don't think he was. However, I have some made some mistakes, so I still took the speech to heart. I really wish we had more time in there to turn the whole thing around...

Saw my sister and brother in law for the last time before they officially make the trip to South Dakota. If the situation was different, I would be a friggin mess right now, probably ballin my eyes out (don't judge me) at the thought of not seeing them again for a while. But the situation is different -- I will be flying out there in roughly two weeks. However, check in with me when I fly back. That's when you might see a (at that time) 23 year old male cry like a 14 year old girl if she ever found at that sparkling vampires don't exist.

We had dinner, just the three of us, and it was great. Everything we usually do: Gossip, crack jokes, eat, laugh, get serious if we need to. At one point I confessed to them that I would be joining Twitter soon and that made for great conversation (it was the three of us that had bashed the site calling it "stupid" among other things). It's always fun to eat your words. At the end of the meal, they took my bill and put it with thiers. Now, this may happen a lot, but not usually with us. It was just kind of a cool moment. I think we are all getting caught up in emotions and usually my pride would get in the way, but I just let it happen this time. She called me a few hours later and said she said goodbye to our neice and nephew and she broke down. So I guess I better watch out for her when I leave as well...

And how about a random story to end on? So we are getting specific shoes for jme's wedding and the site I ordered them from said (after I placed the order) that they didn't have any in the size I requested. I freaked out and googled some other sites and came across Zappos.com and snatched up some from them. I had tried to get expedited shipping, but went too fast. I noticed that they had a 24/7 helpline so at 8:30 at night I called them and asked to get the faster shipping. She said since I called, she put me as VIP and it automatically upgraded me to one day shipping, so I expected the shoes to get here on Friday (three days later). Imagine my surprise when I woke up the next morning to Frisco handing me a box that the mailman had just dropped off. It contained my shoes. Did I mention it was 8 in the morning, making it a 12 hour shipment?

Hope you guys have a good weekend. I will be watching the SEC championship, hopefully seeing Florida crush Bama for the second week in a row.

Random lyric of the day:

You gotta swim
For nights that wont end
Swim for your families
Your lovers your sisters
And brothers your friends

Can't See The Forest For The Trees

So I haven't really talked much about my brothers, but one of them, his name is Nick, is also a journalism major at Fresno State. Nick is someone who I feel, if he can put stupid things to the side and focus on important, can go very very far in life. We often trade music reviews and thoughts on movies and such, but every once in a while we will talk sort of serious, or discuss something more important. Today is one of those days. He sent me a copy of an essay he turned and asked for my thoughts. I told him mine (I actually disagreed with a couple of his points, but thought it was great overall) and I am curious to what you guys think, so I am going to post it here. It looks kind of lengthy, but please don't let it scare you off. I read through it pretty quick as, and I'm sort of bragging on him, I feel he does write really well. But here it is:

Can’t See the Forest For the Trees

Do you remember your childhood and all the big dreams you had to conquer this world? Surely, those memories are long gone, made way for some logical thinking of college, a well paying career, and one day a family of your own. This path of logic consists of stability, with the hopes that if you work hard enough for so long you will strike your riches eventually and be able to retire off into the sunset happily. This appears to be what the general population would most likely be satisfied with; nowadays you can give a man a car and a house and he’ll be fully content, never realizing he worked his life away for another two material items. This is when I pose the question, what are we really seeking in life?
The reason I titled this piece ‘Can’t see the Fore/st for the Trees,’ is because according to About.com the definition is generally “overly concerned with detail; not understanding the whole situation (Beare).” This appropriately describes how I feel today’s modern society is towards life, in a sense. We as a society are too overly focused on today’s way of living. We are seemingly stuck in a rut of unimportant necessities that we think complete us. A man can mow the same lawn of grass for decades of his life, and be proud to call it his patch of earth that he can then show off how nicely kept it is. Is this really what humans are meant to do? Work a nine to five job and then proudly trim grass just to stay up with proper standards of a community or society? When we were kids, I doubt any of us wanted to grow up living an eventual dull life of routine existence. I know for a fact that I still want to get out of this apartment and climb up the nearest mountain, just so I may attempt to rid my head of this constant illusion of society. Maybe then consumer products will not be the first things to enter my thoughts when I ask what do I want in life.
The constant dream, to become successful and settle down, runs deep in mostly all of our consciousnesses. A ‘big house to settle down in’ seems to me a big fantasy that we are all taking a part in of dreaming; an illusion we live for to keep us calm, quiet, and working, to keep this bee hive of a society ever progressive and functioning. But what are we seeking? This question is really meaningful because so many of us lose sight of our outlandish aspirations and conform to the grasps of the economy. Why is it that in the land of the free, the economy can crush so many dreams? A friend of mine is a rather exceptional guitarist and is in a touring rock band. Thanks to the overly pressuring voice of society, he is now preparing for the extreme student life at one of California’s better colleges, but pretty much forgoing the fact that he is in a successful band so he may soon fit in with the upper echelon of society and be revered as successful. This makes perfect sense, as he isn’t a teen anymore, and he is ready for the real calling the world has to offer, but honestly why give up the freedom of the road? Why not escape the hardships of civilization and the economy the best he can? I know there are responsibilities to life, but I really don’t see the point in growing up too fast to where you let the world pass you by as you do.
In the words of Four Letter Lie vocalist Brian Nagan, “Half of knowing what you want, is knowing who you are (Nagan).” I was never a kid who was extremely enticed by the seasons; I never dressed up for trick or treating during Halloween, and although I graciously accepted the presents, I knew all along Santa was fake and Christmas was just like any other day. If I may, this realization of what is actually real and what is not really helps me relate to Chris McCandless. He was a man with a college education just like a good number of us, but unlike most of us, he decided to break away from the norm of society to live a thrilling, nation- crossing, vagabond life style. Prior to making this radical and life altering decision to skip town, he had to be asking himself what he truly wanted in life. To be honest, I too from time to time get the urge to just abandon this whole new age network of living and live off on the road just as McCandless did. I see in my life that man is cluttered, ever the busy body with the constant places to go; our days are routinely spent and wasted on things like school and work, and we don’t see the harm in living our lives away behind desks. It’s sad to be caught in a generation where technology is becoming more predominant than nature.
Another eerie thing about the times today is that according to Walmart, a household name, family time should be spent playing Xbox 360. During a promotional commercial for Xbox 360 and Guitar Hero World Tour, the actress mother goes on to say, “Thanks to Walmart’s great prices I was able to buy Xbox 360… and now my family is always together.” I just find this a bit awkward, questioning if this is really where the times have gotten us. Speaking from experience, things like video games only occupy our youth and waste their time, light-years away from the farfetched message Walmart is trying to promote by saying video games bring families together. This new age of families thrive on and lusts for technology, information and connection. We crave products to ease our stressful workload in life. Great minds before us, such as McCandless, Henry David Thoreau, and Everett “Nemo” Ruess most likely held the most opposite of things with warmhearted hands and eyes. They would have believed in things like Freedom, Solitude, Nature, and one-ness. Why is it so many people of today have lost this similar connection to those great thinkers, trading in darkness and silence for constant lights and sounds? I believe it is because the majority of our population has conformed to the fast paced times, just like my musician friend. Where McCandless wanted to live life to fullest and explore the unexplored, we are in a time were fashion runs amok, and fame, money, love, respect, and ease all shuffle around in our heads on constant repeat.
Due to this, many people would not be able to put themselves through what McCandless put himself through; He had the mental toughness to completely believe he could make it, showing amazing amounts of courage and determination, where as this would be a true struggle for most of us as we tend to rely on the comforts of modern-day life and chose to just take it easy. McCandless took extreme charge of his life and dictated where he wanted to go and how he wanted to get there. He didn’t settle his sights on a prestigious career to spend years working forward to, and he made enough of a statement in his life to influence others even after his death. In my eye he was a man who truly knew what he was looking for, which was not some fairytale façade that a good number of us full heartedly believe in. He was able to prove a good life and happiness were obtainable without the need of a substantial money source. He pretty much lived the life of a vagabond, and yet he was thrilled with his journal saying, “ his spirit is soaring (Krakauer).” I think this properly shows what exactly I was getting at when I brought up examples of today’s society, and things like how technology is wrongly influencing us into what we think we are seeking in life.
As I write this, I am on the open road; destination Reno, Nevada for my musician friend’s music gig. Turns out my friend will be accepting the higher calling of ranked society, as if his grades uphold he is guaranteed acceptance to UC Davis and he will be set to explore an education and career in electrical engineering, something that should be of great demand in tomorrows’ computer infused world. So while we are on this 5 hour drive, changing states and temperature with time and miles, a calming realization sets in: This logic and way of safe thinking isn’t bad at all if it keeps us living to the next day, with our works and trifles paying off into bigger riches if hopeful events turn out the way we intended. My friend has spent his time in this music scene and made his mark, with an e.p under his belt and another one on the way, and yet this college path is just another way for a young talented man to prove his worth just like Chris McCandless did many times throughout his existence. But what I admire immensely about McCandless was his will to set about what he said he would do, such as living off the wild in Alaska for an extended amount of time. I look out the van windows, and instead of busy buildings and constantly motion filled people, I see maybe hundreds of thousands large beautiful trees. I cant help to remember and think about McCandless’ love of nature and ever long lure his heart felt for it, and compare it to how at peace and calming this extensive view of nature is from inside this van looking out into the wilderness along this California and Nevada roadtrip. I am thrilled to be here on the road and see the abundance of life, and that fear of having to grow up and face respectability and ranked stature is far off in the back of my thoughts. So to find closure to my argument, I’d like to re-ask what are you seeking in life? I know it would be rather reckless for us all to forgo social constraints just as McCandless, and I would definitely be a hypocrite to try and preach or impose such a thing. So rather than the latest madden for xbox 360 or high definition television, maybe a little self re-evaluation for us all would do us a mighty deal of good in correcting and setting our eyes properly on what it is we want in life.

Once again, just to reiterate, this was my brother's work and not mine, but I am still very curious as to what you guys think.

Connecting Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and... South Dakota?

So not sure how long any of you have been following, but if you have been here for a while you will that my sister and I are very close. There have been pictures and posts about visiting Crestview, Florida, where her and her husband live. But something I am not sure I have explained before, but will be explained in one of the last posts I promised I would dedicate this week before taking some time off (from writing -- not posting). In the following story, you will see exactly what we are -- and what the future holds for us.

Laurie and I became friends around 8th grade. One of those situations where we were seated next to each other and one conversation led to another and soon we were becoming good friends. It was phone calls after school and venting when my girlfriend broke up with me then proceeded to mess with other guys in my class. She was my original bff you could say. I remember one time we went to a roller skating rink on a class trip and she didn't want to go because she couldn't skate, but I promised her I would stay with her. Until the girl I was crushing on told me to come skate with her. And I left Laurie to stumble by herself. Yea, I got a lot of flack for that, haha.

In the summer of 2001 (Note: 2001 was a terrible year for me. That year could get it's own blog post) I was facing the tough decision of moving back to California or stay in Alabama for high school, where I had been living since 3rd grade. It was back and forth, with at one point I even went to freshman orientation at a school in Modesto, CA. But two people ultimately had the influence at the time to bring me back. One was Keyo (which is crazy, because we aren't even really friends anymore) and the other was Laurie. So when I came back, I learned that her mom had separated from her boyfriend. At this same time, my dad had just gone through a divorce. So we came up with the idea of setting them on a date. They agreed to it and then the next few months just happened so fast. They moved in together, got engaged and then got married. All the sudden I had a new family. Laurie was now my sister.

We only became closer as it was clear our parents married too fast and maybe weren't exactly right for each other. It made us have to depend on each other more. During our senior year of high school (we are the same age) she was doing cheerleading and JROTC stuff after school and I was working and we would get home at about the same time. We always missed dinner, but she would always take care of it, making us something. The two of us started to feel like a family, even if our parents didn't show it really.

Then, one day it became too much for her. This day started the only downward spiral we had ever had. I can't even remember the exact incident, but I came home one day to find that she had moved out of the house we were staying at and living with her dad, who lived in the same town. I tried to play it off, but I was hurt. Hurt because we had made a pact. We both said that no matter how bad it got with our parents, we would never abandon each other. And I felt like she did. She was still my sister, but at school she was just a classmate. And I HATED it. I remember at one point we even had a fallout because I got caught saying some stuff on my mind to a friend that got back to her. We eventually sat down and talked about it. But by then, senior year was over -- I was getting ready to leave for Auburn and she was getting ready to stay and go to the community college. We tried to keep in touch, but it kind of fell through. To be honest, she was doing things and hanging out with people that we will just say I didn't agree with. My entire freshman year went by and our connection was hanging by a thread, but we still had one.

Then, in August of 2006, at the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I got a phone call. She asked me what I was doing and I told her I was playing video games. She then asked if I could come to Ozark the next day because she was getting married. This totally came out of nowhere because the guy she was marrying was someone she dated for years in high school, but to everyone's knowledge they had not stayed in touch for a while. So, being the brother I am, got out of work early the next day and sped down the road in time to make it for the wedding. Little did I know that that day would be a catalyst for the change in both of our lives.

The guy, Luis, and I had always been friends. I actually knew him before he started dating Laurie. He had been in the Air Force for about a year before they got married. He spent that time doing basic and all that good stuff, but after their marriage, he got stationed in Augusta, Georgia. I visited them once and I really liked the vibe. Then, a few months later they got stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, located in the Crestview/Destin/Ft. Walton area of Florida. This area was only a few hours away from where I lived. All the sudden, without the people she was hanging out with and with her new situation, there were more phone calls. We started inching becoming closer again. In a weird but funny part of the story, a videogame by the name of Halo brought us together to the point where we are now. I don't know if anyone is familiar with that game, but it's basically a shooting game you can play over Xbox Live. One day, Laurie got tired of watching Luis play it all the time so she jumped on and we all became addicted (my roommate jumped on too). It got to the point where we were playing everynight and we noticed was happening was we got used to talking to each other where when the game died down we would still call because we were so used to it.

There house became my spot. Even after our latest ripple in the pond. As I have mentioned earlier, our parents weren't exactly great together. And in January of this year, what we thought came true as they finally filed for divorce. So now, we are not even technically family. However, my feeling is that after 8 years of being family, you don't just stop. In fact, I think it sort of made us stronger because we could vent to each other because the other understood. Our parents understand too. They understand that even though a piece of paper initially told us we were familair, another one just couldn't come and tell us we weren't. So the visits continued without stop. I would start out visiting about once every few months to literally at least once a month, with one month maxing out at three visits. This was also amped up because in the last year I have gone through a pretty horrible break up and they were referred to as "my team." I couldn't have gotten through it without them. But after three years of closeness and constant visiting, it seems I will have to.

About a month or so ago, we got the news. Luis switched jobs, and because he did he lost the privilege to choose to stay at the base where they are at now. So where will be they be living at the end of October? If you saw the title of the blog, you would have guessed it -- South Dakota. At first, I was crushed. We all were. But now, we have kind of accepted it. We will still talk everyday, as we do now, but the visits have been drastically altered. Instead of once or twice a month, it will have to go to once or twice a year (I have already started looking into plane tickets for Christmas/New Year's). The only other thing that has to be changed, is I was looking at living with them for a while after graduation to get off my feet so to speak. Now that they will be in South Dakota, it may not be that easy, but at least it will be possible.

(I just realized how long this is. Kudos again for you if you have read. And I'm sorry if it's not understandable. I am too tired to go back and proofread)

So, in summay, the move sucks. But we are looking forward to it now. We have to. I am sort of an optimist and I feel it has started to rub off on them. And I guess it sucks to trade sunshine for snow, but hey, at least there will be snow :)

Wordless Wednesdays: Random Florida Pics

Also, don't forget to check out my first attempt at a blog contest. There is some stiff competition from some people... others, not so much ;)

Exit Light, Enter Night

After watching some UFC this weekend, let's do this post in their style.


Preliminary Fight: As I mentioned in my one of my previous posts, I get into bands late. Just like Bob Marley, it took me a while to warm up to Metallica. And also just like Bob Marley, I wouldn't say that I am "into" them, but I just downloaded their discography after a) Brock Lesnar came out to "Enter Sandman" and b) I am going through the songs for my show on Wednesday and I wanted to go a little old school. Oh, by the way. Wednesday's show SHOULD be a four hour extravaganza. I already have one hour of good tunes lined up courtesy of a blogger friend with seriously good taste in music. Point is, I'm listening to them right now. If you really wanna get down to it, I'm listening to "The Black Album."

Undercard: Just a little warning, this next spot is strictly sports talk. If that's not your thing, you may just want to skip over right now to the part labeled "Main Event." So while I know some people, I am still sort of a rookie in the UFC game, but I really enjoy it. I enjoy watching it with the family and now that I know some of the names, I have begun cheering for some guys I really like to see. My top 3 are Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin and Brock Lesnar. This Saturday was UFC 100, so the number was a big deal. And if you have Yahoo as your home page you are aware that there was some controversy this weekend. Before we got to that, let me recap.
The first fight, none of us knew the two fighters. I was writing down our picks and I honestly put J for the Japanese guy (nobody picked the white guy). The Japanese guy ended up winning a decision, but the fight was kinda boring. A lot of the times they were just standing there feeling each other out.
The second fight contained one of the most viscous knockouts I have ever seen. It was the conclusion of a reality show in which the two guys were coaches. During the show, words were exchanged but it was primarily one sided. The smack talking guy (Micheal Bisping) was the one who got knocked out. And it was a 1,2,3 combo. One punched rocked him and sent him down, his head bounced off the mat, and then the winner (Dan Henderson) gave him an extra punch just to make sure. After the fight, they asked him if he knew Bisping was out and he replied "I thought he might have been, but I just wanted to shut him up."
The next fight featured a guy named George St. Pierre, or known to his fans as GSP (pictured in the red shorts). I stupidly picked the other guy just because everybody else picked GSP. After watching this fight, I can now say I am a fan of his. He fought clean. Never got frustrated and always seemed in control. I will never pick against him again.However, it was the main event featuring Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir that got the most attention before and after the fight. While the UFC is not the WWE, this fight definitely had a storyline. Lesnar had come in from the WWE and lost his first fight to Mir. Lesnar went on a winning streak afterward, even capturing the Heavyweight title. So it was inevitable that a rematch was going to happen. The weeks leading up to the fight, Mir had gotten on the radio and every other place that would listen and talked basically of how "he beat him before, he would do it again." For the most part, Lesnar kept quiet only replying to Mir's comments saying how he had him beat in the first fight, but made a mistake. On Saturday, after the fight got taken to the second round, Lesnar got Mir against the cage and proceeded to go in with flying fists ultimately getting the win. It was post-fight that you may have read about. He went up to a dazed Mir and simply said "talk all that shit now." Then, after a chorus of boos proceeded to give the fans the one finger salute. After some other comments (including: saying he beat Mir "with the horseshow that was stuck up his ass," that he drink Coors Light, not Bud Light who was sponsoring the event and then claimed he might get on top of his wife tonight) it almost seemed as if the UFC had it's first bad boy. But not so fast as the owner, Dana White, spoke to Lesnar and it resulted in Lesnar apologizing for his comments in the post press conference. My thoughts: If you are going to cheer a sport that glorifies knockouts and submissions you can't condemn a man for acting like a jerk. Especially since he came out, took the high road, and apologized for his actions. Yet still, the sports media and others want to say that Lesnar had no class and people can't wait to see him get beat. That's fine, that's what fighting is for. To see if a guy can beat the other guy. But I strongly feel that the only reason there is even a controversy is because Lesnar used to compete in the WWE, and he "acted like it" on Saturday. If it was any other fighter, say a Rampage Jackson, people would think nothing of it. The only thing that is for sure is Lesnar's next fight should get a lot of attention. It already has mine.

Main event: So if you actually read that, kudos to you. If you did skip down to here, I have to give you another warning, this could get graphic. But along with the fight, here is what my Saturday night/Sunday morning was like. Waiting for the fight to start, I hung out with the kids and pretty much all day Saturday watched a combination of Wall E and Monsters, Inc. I mean, if that doesn't get you ready for people to beat the crap out of each other, I don't know what does. Well, as mentioned before, our policy is that you pick a fighter and if they lose, you have to take a shot. The fight finally rolled around and one of the guys had already started drinking. I was kinda late, but picked up a little bit after I ate. I started off with a mix drink combining some drink that Diddy endorses and lemonade. My shots were of Southern Comfort and then my drinks the rest of the night were Smirnoffs (ya know, my girly drinks). Now, I do not say this to be cool or anything, these are just details to the story. This was actually the most I have ever had, and ironically this was the night where I won the most fights (4 out of 5). But I ended up taking other people's shots because back when I was scared to even touch alcohol, they took mine when I lost. Well, when the night died down, my sister and I were still going. It was pretty fun with events such as trapping a bug under a cap bottle and making him dizzy to one of the deepest talks we have ever had outside on the porch. Oh, there were also some UFC tapouts going on (none of which were mine). One thing I thought was funny was whenever my sister left for something, I could have fallen asleep wherever she left me. So I almost fell asleep outside, in the kitchen or in the dining room. But she came back and like I said, we had a really good talk. Then we went our separate ways to dreamland and everything was fine. Until I woke up. And had the worst headache in my life. And I was just hoping that that was it. Of course, it wasn't. As soon as I stood up, I realized that if I didn't do something, I was going to be throwing up. And I know no one writes down in their profiles that they love throwing up, but I personally can't stand it. In fact, it had been 6 years since I had done the whole vomiting thing. But I guess it finally caught up with me. After going into my sister's bathroom and staring at the toilet for ten minutes trying to psyche myself up to go through it, I knew it was time. My brother in law had come in and asked if I was ok, but once I started the dry heaving, he was out. And I hated that, the coughs where nothing was coming or happening except my man parts were starting to hurt. But eventually, after a few false starts, the last night's meal started to flow out where it had come from. And then an amazing thing happened: I felt so much better. Although, it was still kind of gross to blow my nose and have the chunks of vomit come out, but at least it was over. I still sort of felt like crap so I sweated it out the rest of day and still feel sort of bad today (but that could be lack of sleep).

All in all, it was a great weekend. But the whole "hangover" thing is not happening again. At least, not on a day before I have to make the four hour drive back to Auburn. But yea, my first night really getting into it may be my last. I may just have to return to my girly drinks and leave it at that, but even those don't sound great right now.

Bonus track: After the girl's latest post, my wanting of a tattoo has shot up dramatically. I think I have given the big Fuck You to the pain, I just now have to get my finances in order. And still figure out what to get, haha.

(Kinda) Random lyric of the day:

Hush little baby, dont say a word
And never mind that noise you heard
Its just the beast under your bed,
In your closet, in your head

Celebrations and Contemplations

50th post today, YES!!!! It seems like it was just three or so months ago I started this little thing. Oh wait, it was. Man, I get addicted fast...

Anyways, this post, once again, is going to be all over the place. Look for storytelling, random bits, and responses. Ready? GO!

*I am currently listening to Bob Marley while writing this. I have to admit, I got into him WAY late. Although, I still wouldn't consider myself "into" him. but I like him now. During our road trip, he popped up a lot. Anyways, he puts me in a good mood. And that is always a good thing.

*Tonight was random, but fun. I had sort of plans to hang out with this girl tonight, but when the day started I thought "I really don't want to do this." So I made myself busy, figuring out that J Beezy is going to be gone next week so I told this girl that I would reschedule and hang out next week so I can visit with J Beezy for a bit. We ended up meeting up with a another friend (trivia wise -- the friend that this girl made out with) and went to a random lake. I didn't bring my swimwear (they weren't ready for that visual anyways) but Hedman (the dude) brought some guns so I shot some beer cans. Good old Alabama fun, huh? Afterward, we went back to J Beezy's and played some Mario Party on the Wii. I definitely think I am getting hooked on Mario Party, both the DS or Wii version.

*Let's get this little bit out of the way. Last night, we took a trip home and back to put some random stuff we have had in the house I live in to put it in my dad's storage shed. While there, I met up with some people that are still in that area that we haven't seen in a while such as an old roommate of mine who is now married with a kid. Since I haven't seen her in at least two years, that was good. Sat with another friend of mine where she worked at PoFolks (a southern restaurant). She was actually the friend that a few posts ago made me question whether I go to Crestview too much. She sort of said something again.

Me: "I don't know where I will be after college, but it won't be here, in this state."

Her (with an attitude): "Yea, it will probably be in Crestview."

Me: "Was there attitude in there?"

Her: "Yea, I'm just jealous cuz you always go there, but you never visit here."

Me: "Let me ask you a question, what does my house look like?"

It was nice to shut her down seeing as how I have been living at the same spot for two years, a spot she has yet to see, and she tried to make me feel bad for not seeing her enough. It was great. But that wasn't the best part of the night. This was:

*In order to go to the storage shed, I had to pass the gas station where my ex-girlfriend (who, I have officially changed in these blogs to be labeled as "you") works. I told my friend who was riding with me that if her car was there, I was going to kind of freak out, but if it wasn't I would be ok. Well, her car was there, and she was outside smoking. Then I saw her hug a dude. As a friend of mine said, it's like being hit with a sledgehammer. We got to the shed and I called J Beezy to ask if I should walk in there. She said yes, I agreed and so we did. I walked in first, went straight for the drinks, and she saw my friend first. When he mentioned that he was with me, he said her face went to shock (my "home" is two hours away, so for me to be there on a Wednesday is really random) then she saw me. We gave our awkward waves, but when I got up there, I got a hug, he got a hug, you said you were glad we came in, I paid for my stuff, and left. Nevermind that my hands were nervously shaking when reaching to my wallet or I stuttered when talking to you or that I about passed out when it was over. Best part though? You told me I should say hi to your friend (which we don't get along -- that is a whole nother post entirely). So I walked up to her, said what's up and hoped she was doing good. I can tell by the look on her face it totally messed her up, in that she wasn't expecting that at all. But as far as you go, hopefully, now that it's over, when you come back in August to go to school, it won't be so bad.

*What won't be so bad? This weekend. I know I go to Crestview to see my sister a lot, but this weekend is special. Her sister and her sister's husband and thier kids are coming. I love her kids. They are somewhere around 7,6 and 4. I need to double check that. But expect plenty of pictures after this weekend. And we are all meeting up for UFC 100 featuring Brock Lesnar (who I like and my sister hates). Our rule during the fights is that everybody picks who is going to win each fight and if you lose you have to take a shot. So this could be fun.

*Final thing to say: followers and comments. I am very appreciative to all the new followers I have gotten. I have tried to check out your blogs as well, but forgive me if I haven't made my way over there yet. Next week, I plan to check out not only them, but the other two guys that the girl recommended over on her blog. And I plan to go check out some old posts I haven't gotten to read, most notably some of Melissa's stories. But I try to leave little small comments (or in jeanette's or the girl's cases, mini stories). And due to request, I have tried to get into the habit of returning comments left on my page. I am still a rookie, but I am getting there. The only one I don't respond too is Wordless Wednesdays, as I try to play up the whole "wordless" thing. But if I have been slacking, I apologize but I will get on the ball. Starting soon. Trust me.

Random lyric of the day:

Look up, I look up at night,
Planets are moving at the speed of light.
Climb up, up in the trees,
every chance that you get,
is a chance you seize.
How long am I gonna stand,
with my head stuck under the sand?
I'll start before I can stop,
before I see things the right way up.

Ignorance is your new best friend

Paramore has a new song out (check out the title). The Used came out with a song last week. Both cd's come out in September. September is going to be a good month :)

Where do I begin? Did everybody have a good 4th? It could have been better for me, but it was still great. You see, I should throw out a warning, this post has the potential to be all over the place -- highs, lows, lefts and rights -- as I am probably going to write until I fall asleep.

Got to Crestview Thursday night and basically just chilled. Let me say for the record that I know the song "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant is good, but the entire cd is great also. Perfect driving music. The next day my sister had to work, so my brother-in-law and I went to get him a new xbox (he got the dreaded red ring of death) and spent a few hours in Destin. Drank just a little bit when we got back, just enough to get tired, haha. (Ok Jme, I give you credit, but brother-in-law has officially been shortened to bil). He said that we were going to be asleep soon and after we decided to watch Madea Goes to Jail, 20 minutes later she was out. However, woke up the next morning to some awesome pancakes and bacon before we headed out to meet one of her friends in Destin. Attempted to watch some fireworks but it was kind of lame from our vantage point so we called it. Sister and her friend did more drinking than to get to sleep, so I laughed at them for a bit before said friend left and woke up to some outside family drama but we cooled it off by watching Zack and Miri. Basically chilled for the rest of the night, I skipped class this morning to stay the night there, but made my way back this afternoon amidst a monsoon of rain. Today was much of the same -- chillin.

So that was my weekend. Cool, but not very exciting. I skipped over the whole "drama" thing because I'm honestly tired of it and we are still sort of dealing with it. One reason is because I will be right back there this weekend, but that weekend has been planned due to UFC 100 and the Brock Lesnar fight. Should be some good times, let's hope.

I had some mixed feelings about this weekend. You see, last year on the fourth, there was a UFC fight that weekend. (We call them "Fight Nights" at my sister's). My girlfriend at the time accompanied me down there and though we had fought some weeks before, that weekend was the starting downfall to our eventual (final) breakup. A little backstory: even though I mention drinking here and there, I have my own personal convictions against drugs. I don't condemn people that drink, smoke and do all that, but I personally don't do it. I drink a little bit, but when I mention "drinking" in this conversation, I am talking more of people who are drunk 4 nights out of the week. But like I said, I would never say anything to said people as it is their choice -- same as it is mine not to. However, do to family history, the only people I do say stuff to is members of the family and REAL good friends. The number one thing I can't stand is cigarettes. Forget all the health risks, it is just plain nasty to me. And pretty much everybody in my family minus my dad has smoked and I have just been tired of it. Well before that weekend, I knew my girlfriend has smoked a few times. She said she did when she drank because it "made her more drunk." Well, I had always voiced my opinion. It was simply this: I'm not going to tell you not to, but I really don't want to be with a girl that does that. On this weekend, my sister and some other people are outside smoking, myself and some of the guys are inside playing video games or something, but the door swings open and there she is, smoking a cigarette that my sister gave to her. It messed me up for the rest of the night due to a couple of reasons. One thing I was thinking was "how could she do that knowing how I feel about it" and the other was "why am I getting so upset about this?" I tried to play it off, but I'm not good about hiding my emotions, she noticed and the next day we got into a huge fight about it. During the fight, I even realized that I was being a little controlling, even though I was trying my hardest to not. But I feel like the damage had already been done. She broke up with me about a month later (if you think this post is personal, wait till that time frame comes around). After it happened, I wished to take it back. I would try to convince her that I didn't care if she smoked, I would just deal with it. I didn't want something like that to keep us apart. It ultimately wasn't the cause, but i still feel it was a starting point. So yea, I feel like it's going to take a couple 4th of July weekends to erase that one.

Let's move on to some other topics: 2 things also happened that Saturday.

1) I got a text from J Beezy (name of "friend" i mention here in Auburn) that said Norah (check one of the last blogs) and her boyfriend had just broken up. However, the text came with a sad face. So my moment of happiness was turned to concern. Now, I'm sort of joking because I know this is something serious and like I said previously, I don't even know if she is even slightly into me, but it opens the door for something to maybe happen in the future. I'm not going to wait on it or nothing, but hey, it might happen?

2) Quite possibly the biggest news of the night. As mentioned in a previous post, my best friend Jme (not actual spelling) is getting married. However, we learned this weekend that instead of waiting for two years, the wedding will actually be in December of this year. Also, instead of just being an usher, I am now in the wedding party. My title? "Bridesman." That's right, it will be her sister, myself, and two other girls. I don't think this goes well for my whole gay image thing. But she is my best friend and if she asked me to wear a dress I would do it (please don't).

Not only is she getting married this winter, but she is doing a give away right now. Click here to see if you would be interested.

I have to give some props to some very important people. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I was kind of in a "funk" today and these guys made me laugh and snap out of it. Thanks.

Tomorrow looks like a good day. I'm going to sleep sort of early because I am worn out after lack of sleep last night and three hour drive today in nasty weather. So should get some good sleep here tonight and then get to download some Green Day tracks on Rock Band and then go see Public Enemies. So tomorrow's post should be better.

Random pics from this weekend:

gettin ready to go out

still rockin the razor

I didn't take this pic, but I like it

blurry fireworks

My sister and I -- taking pictures, it's what we do

Random lyric of the day:

Early morning
The city breaks
I've been callin'
For years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
Ya never send me no letters
You got some kinda nerve
Taking all my world

You're my boy Blue!

There has been so much I have wanted to chat about since my last post. I think I am addicted to blogging. It's to the point where I watch a movie or listen to a CD and think to myself "I need to share my thoughts on this" So that's what I am about to do.

I watched Old School on Friday night/Saturday morning. That movie is a classic. I think this is like the 8th time I have seen it, but the first time in years. There are a lot of people that showed up in that movie that have gotten bigger since then. The girl from 21 was in there, one of the dudes that showed up in Coach Carter (the one that quit) was in there, and the chick from Grey's Anatomy was in there. And of course, it was one of Will Ferrell's first movies. But the star -- Vince Vaughn.

Little trivia: the same people that made Old School made The Hangover. There are similarities in the two. If you compare the main three characters -- Luke Wilson is the same as Ed Helms, Will Ferrell is the same as the dude with the beard (i'm too lazy to look it up), and Vince Vaughn is the same as Bradley Cooper. And yes, The Hangover was as funny as everybody made it out to be. The only thing I have to say is it started with Sarah Marshall, but it seems movies are pushing the envelope more and more these days. Full male nudity is apparently the new funny.

That was yesterday. I randomly drove to Crestview again. Got a lil drinky drink on, basically a part two to last weekend. I decided to go there because I was going to see my dad the next day, but he was kind of tired so we decided we would meet up this morning and I wanted something to do, so I just drove down to Crestview. And that's what we did. Late night Hamburger Helper (yum) and movie, then woke up early to meet my dad back in Alabama. His Father's Day consisted of me taking him to IHOP, going to see Star Trek, and then him beating me in miniature golf. Noteworthy events of the day: Star Trek was actually pretty good and I can't believe I lost to my dad in miniature golf. But in his nerdiness, he brought an actual putter to the course. I didn't stand a chance...

So I am still working on a couple blogs -- a review of the concert(s) with pics and a major music blog. I hope everybody reading this will enjoy them but for now let me take care of some business...

jeanette from Cooler Ranch of Nacho Cheese? tagged me for the Honest Scrap Award. The rules for this award are to tell your readers 10 things about you that are true, that they might not know. Then you have to tag 10 other bloggers to do the same.



*these are just off the top of my head:

1)my username (Mr. O) is not some cool name I go by, it is actually my initials, it just kind of worked out that way

2)my roommate and I once watched an entire season of scrubs (maybe season 2?) in one weekend

3)I have two younger brothers; that are my half brothers; that are twins; that are japanese

4)I've probably only read maybe 10 or 15 books in my life. Over half of them are wrestler autobiographies. Yep, I just went there.

5)I have been saying since 2006 that I want to learn the piano. I just started a month ago.

6)I am a very heterosexual man, but I still consider Brokeback Mountain to be a damn good movie]

7)Speaking of my possible gayness, I believe I have a man crush on Johnny Depp

8)I have been friends with my best friend since around ninth grade. Before that time, she couldn't stand me, though we had never really had a conversation.

9)In the span of three days, I walked on the Grand Canyon and the Golden Gate Bridge

10)The first concert I ever attended? Creed.

And now here comes the fun part. And this makes me happy because I actually have ten people to tag :)

*note: some of these people I may have commented on once or twice, or got commented on once or twice, but I am willing (and am going to) change that. Hopefully starting with this post...

1)this is me; consequently
2)What if?
3)Where the hell do I go from here?
4)Meme Love
5)Lil Miss Tabs
6)What Do You Say
7)The Caped Tirader!
8)Deeply Problematic
9)Uberly Ecstatic
10)Southern Domestic Goddess

*note to the girl: I would have tagged you, but I am guessing this is what your blog post was about. I think. Otherwise, you know you would have gotten a tag ;)

So here is what's going on for the week: Project due tomorrow, new one due at the end of the week, and a trip to Tuscaloosa at the end of the week. Let's do this!

Random lyric of the day:

But I often wondered just how deep I could
Sink my teeth into that crease on your arm
The place where all the good times,
They grow and grow.

Would it taste the same, the same for me?
Yeah, would it sound the same coming from me?
Such an awful tearing sound.

Blame It On The...

Pretty fun weekend. Went to Crestview, to visit the sister and brother-in-law. That place is basically my getaway, but this was the first time I didn't really need to get away from anything. I just wanted to be there. There is something about when the three of us get together, it is just an amazing time. Also, it was the start of a four weekend run. This past weekend, Crestview. Next weekend, Dad's day. Weekend after, trip to Tuscaloosa (University of Alabama) to visit friends. Weekend after that, 4th of July and either I will be in Atlanta dancing my ass off or in Crestview barbecuing and having a lil "sippy sippy".

Speaking of which, let me explain. I am not what you would call a "drinker" by any means. However, the only time I really do is with my family (the Crestview peeps). And I will admit it -- it's the girly drinks. We went to Outback last night and I got a captain something. Tasted really good actually. And then we got our "dranky drank" on with the best of em -- Mike's Hard Lemonade, haha. Ok ok, I will admit this also -- and green apple smirnoff. There, I admitted it. No beer or hard liqour for this man. Give me my fruity drinks!

What else did I do this weekend? Well, let's start with Friday. Got there around 9 or 10 (its like a four hour drive from my house) and just chilled that night. Next day, watched some movies and then went and played miniature golf (known in that area as "Goofy Golf"). Woke up this morning and basically chilled all day playing wii and xbox for a while. Now I am home and have to work on a newspaper layout for the summer class I am taking. Better get to it, but before I do, enjoy the following pictures.

So I mentioned I watched some movies, right? Well I watched two, and I now have two new crushes. Let me explain my crush past. For the LONGEST time it was Jessica Alba. After Pirates, it was Keira Knightley. More recently, it was Mila Kunis after Forgetting Sarah Marshall followed by Jordana Brewster in F&F4. Let me introduce you to my two new ladies:

First movie we watched was Yes Man, which was better than I thought it would be. And now I would like to welcome Zooey Deschanel to the club.

And then we saw "He's Just Not That Into You." Not as good as I thought it would be (random fact about myself: I am actually kind of a chic flick fan). Just kinda average. But after everybody I know has the hots for her, I am adding myself to the Scarlett Johansson fan club.


And after that, what an awesome segway to family photos, eh?


Any ways, these guys are pretty much the ultimate combination of best friends and family members, this is my sister and brother-in-law:



And this was my sister and I in the ridiculously hot heat of goofy golf:



And finally, just us posing in the hot sun, with our golf clubs:



So that's about it. Taking Back Sunday concert on Wednesday that I cannot wait for. Oh and expect a major music blog coming soon...

Random lyric of the day:

Girl i know you feel good
Just like you look, couple more shots
You open up like a book
I ain't trippin
(cause imma read ya)
Shawty i ain't trippin
(i just wanna please ya)
Imma take a shot of nuvo
Shawty didn't you know
It's going down we can go n kick it like judo (you know)
You know what i mean
Shawty got drunk, thought it all was a dream
So i made her say i, i i
Now she got her hand on my legs, got my seats all wet in my ride (all wet in my ride)
All over my ride (all over my ride)

Crashing

I feel a deep blog coming. Or at least, more than a "this is what I did today." I have some stuff I need to get off my mind and I'm thinking an "online journal" might be my best outline instead of holding it in and listening to the wrong music and getting in one of those moods. Or a more informative one. I feel like really exploring my musical tastes. Or maybe I will save that for the space. Who knows.

Today was tiring. And windy. I woke up tired and never really recovered. That's why I think I am about to head to bed before 11 even though I have a test on Thursday. I had an energy drink before my night class (new flavor of AMP - Lemonade. I like it) and now it's effects are sure as hell wearing off.

I bought some blank cd's today. Not for me either, since i'm going pretty much all digital. But I still like to make mix cd's for my friends. They appreciate it, so that's nice. I can't really cook or anything like that, but I can make a mean mixtape. I remember at one point my ex-girlfriend said she didn't really like listening to my music, which kinda sucked because that was "my thing." (However, this was during one of our breakups so it may have been used as ammunition, who knows).

I haven't talked to my sister since Friday. She has been in Orlando with her husband on family matters. Usually the longest we let go that we don't talk is MAYBE one day. I miss her.

I also miss the jmeister herself, but not for much longer, cuz I will be seeing her Friday afternoon. And I can't wait.

But right now I am crashing. Goodnight.

Random lyric of the day:

Failure is your disease
You want my outline drawn
You were my greatest failure
Discourse your saving song