On 18 December 2009 I was Thinking...

So I am here alone in my college apartment and here's what I was thinking...

I'm sitting here at my computer, going on Facebook and youtube and stuff. If someone were to try to break in, I think I would seriously try to put it in my Facebook status rather than try to call someone. Four reasons.

1. Someone might not answer if I call.

2. The crappy phone that I have would probably die while I would try to make the call.

3. Even if I did call someone, the intruder/serial killer would totally hear me and that's game over. Staying alive fail.

4. People go on Facebook all the time and see status updates and stuff.

The Davis Police Department should make a facebook account. Then, all you would do is befriend them and comment on their wall every time someone tries to kill you. That would be hilarious if you were to post a comment on their wall and you were like, "THERE ARE INTRUDERS IN MY HOUSE AND I AM HIDING UNDER MY BED," and one of your friends 'likes' your comment, or comments on it with "you're so effed LOL."

So yeah, that's what I was thinking today.

Click this thingy to enlarge the picture so you can see my potential status if I were ever to be in this situation.

Christmas Break! Yay!

Dang, I have no idea what to write about. It's almost a week into winter break, and it's been pretty boring. I eat out way too much. 'Much' is a weird word. Much. MUTCH. Hutch. Hitch? Will Smith. Okay.

That's always the best way to end a paragraph/transition into a new paragraph- with a black person. What? Try it next time you have an essay to write for that class you're failing. Improvement. Guaranteed. So I'm getting into GLEE, which is totes high-larious. Also, probs gonna get back into Lost and catch up. So that means that from the point that I stopped watching Lost up to the last episode, I have something like 65 episodes to watch. Oh daaaaaarn. *sarcastic sad face* Michelle Obama.

So like I said, it's winter break. Christmas shopping. Ugh. No cash money on me. -__- If that song goes, "mo' money, mo' problems," then, for me, that means no money. no problems. I don't think that's true. With the money that I don't have, I want to buy a new pair of fake glasses since I broke them at the beginning of the year. That incident totally screwed me over considering that those glasses were made for people with perfect vision. And now that they're broken, I can't see. That's how it works. Look it up. Ben Franklin. Bifocals. Battlestar Galactica. Near-sighted people get glasses for their near-sightedness. Far-sighted people get glasses for their far-sightedness. Near-sighted glasses break, near-sighted people can't see. Far-sighted glasses break, far-sighted people can't see. Same thing. 50 Cent.

I drink coca-cola way too much. Muuuuuuuch. Also, something related to that. I just vacuumed our living room for something around half an hour. Our vacuum cleaner does not suck, which is a huge insult to all vacuums everywhere. Someday natural selection will weed out all the non-sucky vacuums and eventually we'll all have dyson vacuums.

George Foreman.

Delayed Art, Academic Progress, Quicktime.

I've been meaning to post some pictures/art that I've had in mind recently. But it's finals week! So maybe I'll post that shiz as a sort of break from studying.

Also, I am sort of on my way to being a psych major! And I have recently decided to try to minor in communications! Fun stuff. So that's a music-trumpet performance and bachelor of arts in psychology double major with a minor in communications.

So sad that this quarter is already over :(

The Great Art Form is Us

There's a reason for everything.

And art is deliberate.

Life is art.

Let's Be Honest.

Why can't we say what we're thinking of?

Why can't we listen? Really listen.

Are we so afraid to face what might make our stomachs weak?

I think so.

Plea please. Say what you feel. Resolve.

See sea secrets build tidal waves behind our backs.

Snippet.

I feel like sometimes this blog exists so that someone out there might look at it and think that my life is interesting.

My Head Hurts.

Sometimes I feel like giving up. Where are those friends to talk to? To lean on? Just when things get difficult.

Is there anybody out there?

Time is a Progressively Speedy Sadist.

Time is moving so fast and I just don't want to keep up. It's pulling me down a steep slope faster and faster. I'm always looking for something to hold on to, something to slow me down, something to take me back.

Time is a sadist. Dragging us away from our happy moments and holding us down when we're suffering.

Time is counterintuitive and just not enough.

People are Hard to Please.

Damn, it's hard to be an artist. Living in a world of subjectivity. Undergoing judgment as a way of putting food on the table.

Originality.

It seems like a lot of blogs out there are of pictures or art that someone else has made. At least the 'artsy' ones seem like that. Is that just me?

Fred and Buddy having their first Big Mac... Here's my amateur attempt at making these pictures look sort of like polaroids, or at the very least, like faded photos. Couldn't decide which one was better. Can you tell me?

Got my Urban Outfitters package the other day.

No, no. Thank YOU.

Reenforcing Realization.

I worked out for the first time in a long time yesterday. I came into the ARC looking for a stationary bike to start my work out. But as I walked through the massive building looking for the old familiar machines I used to use, I found that they had been replaced with newer, state-of-the-art bikes with big fancy LCD touch screens complete with iPod functionality, cable television, and virtual bike paths going through pixelated mountain ranges, all underneath 40-something inch HD televisions mounted to the once blank walls. Unnecessarily extravagant. I was intimidated. What happened to the simpler machines I knew before? Reluctant, and unaware of how to use the new-fangled device, I stumbled through the software, and attempted to find a cardio program that I was familiar with. Somewhere in the midst of the mechanical maze, I had found the program I was looking for.

Okay. Cool. Now what? Press this. Okay, new screen. Enter your age. No problem.

One. Nine.

....

*delete* *delete*

Two. Zero.

Enter.

*sigh*

Two Incidents Meet

after practicing at the music building

waiting for the bus to take me home

Brand New Birthday

Passed out on the overpass
Sunday best and broken glass
Broken down from the bikes and bars
Suspended like spirits over speeding cars
You and me were kings over the parkway tonight
And tonight will go on forever while we
walk around this town like we own the streets
and stay awake through summer like we own the heat
Singing "everybody wake up (wake up) it's time to get down"
(everybody, everybody wake up its time to get down)
And when I pass the bottle back to Pete
on the overpass tonight, I bet we laugh

I'm gonna stay eighteen forever (cut me open)
So we can stay like this forever (sun poisoned)
And we'll never miss a party (this offer...)
cause we keep them going constantly (...stands forever)
And we'll never have to listen (new haircut)
to anyone about anything (new bracelet)
cause it's all been done and it's all been said (eyeliner)
we're the coolest kids and we take what we can get

The hell out of this town
Find some conversation
The low fuel lights been on for days
It doesn't mean anything
I've got another 500, 'nother 500 miles
before we shut this engine down,
we shut it down

I'm gonna stay eighteen forever (cut me open)
So we can stay like this forever (sun poisoned)
And we'll never miss a party (this offer...)
cause we keep them going constantly (...stands forever)
And we'll never have to listen (new haircut)
to anyone about anything (new bracelet)
cause it's all been done and it's all been said (eyeliner)
we're the coolest kids and we take what we can get (wait forever)

(you're just jealous cause I'm young and in love)
Eighteen forever (first kisses)
(your stomach's filled up but you're starved for conversation)
So we can stay like this forever (new stitches)
(you're spending all your nights growing old in your bed)
And we'll never miss a party (collar weekend)
(and your tearin up your photos cause you wanna forget... it's over)
cause we keep them going constantly (appearance ticket)
(you're just jealous cause I'm young and in love)
And we'll never have to listen (November to...)
(your stomach's filled up but you're starved for conversation)
to anyone about anything cause it's all been done (...remember)
(you're spending all your nights growing old in your bed)
and it's all been said (nightswimmers)
(and your tearin up your photos cause you wanna forget... it's over)
we're the coolest kids and we take what we can get

Just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous cause we're young and in love
You're just jealous...

It is my birthday today. I wish I was still a teenager!

Puzzle Blogs

Are blogs puzzles? Do some writers write hoping that someone out there, in the far corners of the internet world, will decode the words, the descriptors, the connotations, the denotations, that he or she writes and completely understand and identify with what he or she is going through? Was there anyone out there who read my last post and pictured a college kid who had just come back to his apartment from a very productive day, sitting at his computer, barely awake, typing slowly, posting just because he hadn't posted in a while? Was there anyone out there who felt what I felt as they read my last post, or any other post for that matter? Maybe. Just a thought, I suppose.

Will there be someone who gets this?

Most likely.

For the Sake of Blogging

Oh jeez. I'm pretty darn tired. Listening to Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Wearing my non-prescription buddy holly readers. Typing typing typing. Eyes closed.Waiting. Listening. Typing. Resting.

Davis Year 3, Moving House, and Dumpster Treasures

rescue:scene is currently in Davis, CA! My good friend Emma was so kind and gave me a 9 hour ride from America's Finest City to the Bicycle Capitol of the U.S. of A. We got in last Tuesday, which means I have been here for a whole week! This entire week I have been moving house. Moving stuff from apartment to apartment is such a hassle. I highly advise choosing a very nice place that you are most satisfied with and sticking to it. But most of that business is done with, I just have some little things to organize. Our abode is in quite an unappealing state. We have a handful of people stashing their belongings in our place for the summer, and at the moment it looks like a very unkempt thrift store. That having been said, I am excited for everyone else to move in so that they can put their things away in their proper places, thereby eliminating the thrift storiness that is Avalon 47.

I also have a bunch of clothes that I don't wear. I'm thinking of selling them to a thrift store for some quick monies.

Oh, and since Davis is a college town, there are tons of apartments. So around 1 September, the leases to all of the complexes end. Because most college students are lazy, they just throw out there unwanted furniture and goods on the streets for the taking. I am happy to say that I found a George Foreman grill with a bun warmer, and a baking pan filled with fridge magnets. The magnets were dozens of Spanish words, so I can work on making nonsense sentences. And the other magnets were various magnetic cutouts of clothing and various items which can be arranged and attached in a number of ways to a nearly nude magnetic Barack Obama figure. He apparently wears boxer briefs. I also forgot to mention that I found a John McCain bobblehead. I'll have to post some pictures of these things later on. Too lazy right now.

Should be Sleeping

It's almost midnight and Emma will be here in about 5 hours to pick me up so that we can head to Davis! I am so excited! Why am I blogging right now? Goodnight!

Panorama, Websites, Trialogue

Okay, so I'm not too sure how to make this picture larger without it being pixelated... I'm not too too tech-savvy. But this picture is a panorama of La Jolla, from the top of Mt. Soledad! I went there recently with my friend Emma, and it was quite refreshing! The burritos from El Azteca were a nice touch. Click the picture to see it in full size! Trust me, it looks much better. Actually, that's just an opinion. Like, you know, you could totally just enjoy it from here in its smaller form if that's what you're into. You know, what do I know, right? Maybe you're into minimalism or something. There I go assuming things about the people who read these things! I'm not trying to tell you what to do or whatever. I'm just saying...

But really, please click the picture.

Also, some great new websites I stumbled upon...

indiepassion.blogspot.com - a blog about all things indie music. great resource for those looking for some new auditory musings within the indie genre.

blogotheque.net - cool French website about bands that they get to come to play in the streets of France.

truckspills.com - interesting things that have fallen from the back of trucks such as whale intestines... what?

Yeah. Whale intestines.

How does that happen?

Dude, you just gotta check that website to find out. But I will tell you that the story and pictures are ridiculous!

Cool beans. I feel like you use the word 'ridiculous' too much. It's taking away from the meaning of the word.

Well, what would you have me do, Alfred?

Endure. (Dark Knight reference anyone?)

Alright, thanks for the random convo at the end, Gerald. Why do you always have to... *sigh* Whatever, man.

Performance Jury

So my music performance jury is coming up this October. I don't know if I'll be ready. I've practiced a lot, but I feel like sometimes I've taken steps backward. Maybe they're just the off days that every musician has now and then and I'm just letting those get me down. But I feel like I should have improved so much more than I have by now. It makes me really sad. I am really worried that I won't pass this jury...

Wasting Time.

I miss

I miss

I miss

I wait

I wait

I wait

But time does not.

Past is past

Future, future

Time, just time

And the present is gone.

I want to be in places when where it is impossible to be.

Well, there may not be rhyme, but there is reason. I don't know jack squat about writing. Just dilly-dallying.

Writing wastes time. But it's something for the meantime.

Current State of Affairs

Sometimes
I wish I was brave
I wish I was stronger
I wish I could feel no pain
I wish I was young
I wish I was shy
I wish I was honest
I wish I was you not I

'Cause
I feel so mad
I feel so angry
I feel so callous
So lost, confused, again
I feel so cheap
So used, unfaithful
Let's start over
Let's start over

Sometimes
I wish I was smart
I wish I made cures for
How people are
I wish I had power
I wish I could lead
I wish I could change the world
For you and me

'Cause
I feel so mad
I feel so angry
I feel so callous
So lost, confused, again
I feel so cheap
So used, unfaithful
Let's start over
Let's start over

S*** That Doesn't Matter? You Know What I Mean? Probably not.

I was thinking earlier tonight, "What kind of guy am I?" Am I shy? Extroverted? Happy? Jealous? Patient? Easily angered? Funny? Rude? Self-righteous? Humble? Well, maybe I am all of those things. Maybe it depends on the situation. The when and where. The who and what.

I was driving my friend home after a party and he was talking about relationships, and specifically about a friend that we knew and his past relationships. That got me thinking about my relationships. Since I haven't had very many, it's hard for rme to imagine the girl that I would be with. Maybe I'm not supposed to be with anyone? Maybe I'm one of those people whom you just can't picture being with anyone. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much.

I feel like I'm a nice enough guy. I really enjoy making people laugh, which I would say is a plus. I like having conversations with people, also a plus. I mean, I may not be the People magazine's sexiest man alive, but eh. But sometimes when something might happen with someone, my personality changes. Maybe not totally, but there's definitely a difference. Shyness kicks in, jealousy, sadness, awkwardness (not the good funny kind that I have become fairly adept at), the whole gang comes and changes me. I wish there was a girl that i could just be myself around. I mean, I can be myself around tons of girls, but I wish that there was a girl that I liked, who liked me back that I could just be myself around.

I wish I could articulate my thoughts better. But I also wish that I could actually talk to a friend about this in person. But the problem with having a friend to talk to about stuff like this is, I can't explain what I'm thinking very well because I don't have the time to think about it. It just comes out as I speak. Why are some things so terribly indescribable? It is really awful sometimes. Actually, for me, it is probably awful almost all of the time. I just want to be able to find the words to convey the exact feelings inside me. They want to be let out and understood, and this blog does not do them justice. why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why............... I wish someone would really understand and say, "I know exactly what you mean and what you're feeling. I've been there too." There I go blabbering again about s*** that doesn't matter.

I don't have the patience to edit this entry right now. GAH. Crappy night. Well, crappy ending to a night.

TIGHTLE.

HEY!

Oh okay, so I thought that I would just do a short post. Um. Oh! Okay, also, I've always wanted to do a video blog on youtube. But I don't think that would turn out so well. Plus, I feel like it would take up a lot of time... yessssssssss.

btw, does anyone read this? bee tee dub.

GERALD, SIGNING OUT!

Well, not really signing out yet because I have to kind of proof read this thing real quick. Oh, and I haven't given it a title yet. So I'll do those things, and then see how it looks in the actual finalized version. And if there's anything wrong there, then, you know... just repeat as necessary.

Lather, rinse, and repeat if desired.

Then! I'll literally sign out of bloggerrrrr. QUESTION! (EXCLAMATION?) Why doesn't it say "http://blablabla.BLOGGER.com/" instead of "http://wtf.BLOGSPOT.com/."

Just a thought.

Rich Effs!

This past Wednesday and Friday I hung out with my good friend Ashley Foster, who is, by the way, black. Not that that really comes into play with regards to the quality of our friendship, but I thought that I would just mention that. You know, to sort of give you a general description, a really general description. Anyways, she had some of her friends come down from Fresno to visit America's Finest City for a few days. We decided to hit up La Jolla for some food and to take Ashley's friends to the beach since Fresno's beaches are so utterly atrocious. After we had found a parking space we had to walk some distance to the restaurant that we decided to try out. Now on the way to the restaurant, we were just chatting, and we pass this sidewalk bench with a homeless guy sitting on it begging for change. I didn't really notice him because we were all talking about something, I don't really remember what, but that's besides the point. I heard the homeless guy say something, but because I was conversing with the others, I didn't catch what he said until we passed him and were several paces away. My brain sluggishly put the phonemes together and figured out that the homeless guy had asked for change. But at this point we were already a ways away from him and I didn't want to stop the whole group and turn around and walk all the way back. In retrospect, that was a really lame excuse not to help someone out. I felt so bad because it looked like I had totally just ignored him, not to mention that I actually did have change in my pocket to give away. I guess my brain is just slow sometimes. So, homeless guy, if you're out there somehow reading this, I'm sorry!

I mean, I must have looked like such a pretentious eff. Seriously. Walking around La Jolla, one of the richest places in America, going to this restaurant which charges ten dollars for a burrito, and ignoring a homeless guy who's just asking for some help, because God knows we have plenty to share. You know, if the whole world shared, there would be enough for everyone. *sigh*

Finished Another Book!

Just finished This is Your Brain on Music last night. The last chapter wasn't as fascinating as almost the entire rest of the book, but that might just be because I was excited to finish another book. Anyways, I would recommend this book to the musically educated and the psychology interested, as well as anyone who just wants to learn some freakin' cool facts about music and the brain. For instance, did you know that music actually uses both sides of your brain?

Really? I thought it was just the one side.

Actually, it uses so many parts of your brain, which may be a reason to believe that it helps in an eff load of other areas of life. It uses the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex, the occipital lobe, the cerebellum, and several other areas of the brain. But anyways, that rather poorly described fun little pocket-sized fact is something that I learned from the book. Yes, I retained something that I read!

Magnificent! Let's celebrate!

Okay, how?

We can read another book, maybe?

Hm. Maybe. I dunno.

Well, you can't practice your trumpet all day.

I can if I wanted to.

But you suck.

...

Just kidding.

...

Ahem...

Summer Bookfest '09 is now in its third stage: Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis

Finished a Book!

Just finished Irresistible Revolution a couple of nights ago. Kind of surprising for two reasons: I bought the book somewhere around 3 or 4 weeks ago (I have never read a 'long' book that fast), and I finished it before I finished This is Your Brain on Music, which I was 60 pages from having finished it when I started Irresistible Revolution. After I finish This is Your Brain on Music, I have Mere Christianity in my backpack. As another piece of evidence to how terrible I am with finishing books, I started Mere Christianity freshman year of college, almost two years ago. I got to about 100 pages into it before I stopped. I suppose I'll just start it again from the beginning instead of picking up where I left off.

Irresistible Revolution had a real influence on me, I think. It's change some of my perspectives, and I feel that I really got a lot out of it. Here are some ways that it has influenced me...

I want to live a simple, more sustainable, and holy life.

I want to be an ordinary radical.

I'm closer to my hippy roots.

I still want to be a professional trumpeter, but now it's no longer a way to get a nice suburban house and live a comfortable empty life.

I want to give my money back to the poor.

I want to learn to make my own clothes.

I want to be close to the outsiders of society.

I don't want to just donate to cherities and never have to actually face the suffering people whom the cherities fight for. I want to know those people up close and personal.

I want to have a real imagination and creativity.

I want to share.

I want to love.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this book.

So I Guess I Listen to Music Like 12 Hours a Day

So I'm here in a half sitting, half lying position on my deflated air mattress which is covered with several layers of sheets to add some element of softness. Why not just inflate the thing? Well, by the time I fall asleep and am well into my first REM cycle, my extremely dense derriere is taking all of my bodyweight upon itself. Right now I'm chilling in my auntie's place. It's what I end up doing most of the time nowadays. Kind of thought that summer would be tighter than this, but it seems that a lot of my friends are gone for the summer doing summer school at their respective universities, or away on missions, or whatever it is that they have planned. As for me, the days consist of practicing Yoko, my beloved trumpet, listening to hours upon hours of music online, and constantly checking my favorite websites. I somehow manage to eat somewhere in between.

My auntie has now asked me somewhere around 5 or 6 times since I've arrived here about two weeks ago if I get bored because I stay in my room all day. I tell her the same thing, "Well, I listen to a lot of music. And I practice too. Sometimes I read." When I think about how long I've practiced, I realize that it's probably taken up something like 2-3 hours. I then realize that I've been listening to music for almost the all of the rest of the time. How do I do that!? I find myself listening to a lot of classical, a lot of jazz, a lot of trumpet music. I was gonna continue describing my magical musical adventures, but I was just thinking that if you're anything like me, I don't like reading blogs that are super long. So I'll spare you the incovenience.

Grocery List or Things to Pick up on the way to Death

We need...

imagination
community
sacrifice
revolutions
creativity
discipline
peace
hope
faith
interdependence
wisdom
radicals
humility
self-control
courage
discernment
accountability
patience
grace
weakness
perseverance
honesty
teachability
simplicity
sustainability
justice
compassion
truth
eyes
ears
mouths
hearts
love
Jesus.

Hm. Is there anything I forgot?



Another World Is Possible!

Indescribable States of Being: Jazz

So as I'm typing this, I'm listening to Chet Baker's performance of "But Not For Me." I don't know why I've never heard him before, but he is amazing! His voice sounds so young and so smooth, the only thing better is his trumpet playing. Wow.

Jazz really makes me melt. I always get this picture in my head of a big city with skyscrapers late at night, all lit up with the city lights, and I watch it all from a nice penthouse several dozens of stories up in the night sky. And then sometimes it's kind of like a really good time in your life. Everything is just sailing smoothly, and every now and then there are those jazz notes, those pleasant surprises that just make you breath, and time slooooows down. But you want a little more than that, you want to be stuck in those moments, for time to stop so you can really get to know this feeling that you're in.

Maybe it would be easier for me to have you experience what I mean rather than try to express the indescribable.

Close your eyes and see for yourself.



Here's another one to help get the point across.

Coldplay Concert Long Post

Early into the show, "Violet Hill" Though it looks blue, the lights are actually violet. Get it?

"Yellow" Get it?

"Lovers in Japan"

Chris Martin on the ridiculously large screen.

Viva la Vida

Paper Butterflies in assorted colors, some of which glowed in the dark!

Sick lasers.

"Strawberry Swing" I think?

I used the wrong setting when I took this picture, :\

"Viva" in some cool black light sensitive paint, near the end of the show.

Littered everywhere. People would grab these little guys to take home as souvenirs.

So that was the show in a nutshell. It was the same show that I went to last summer when they started out the Viva la Vida tour. Nevertheless, it was awesome. They like to visit the fans in the back so that they can get a closer look, which is mighty nice of them. Also, there were giant balloons that were tossed around for fun, and spheres which turned out to be 360 degree projectors that came down from the stage. One of the neatest parts was Chris Martin initiating what he called a "Mexican Cell Phone Wave" where the house lights were turned off and everyone took out their cell phones and did the wave. Cool stuff. Oh yeah, and they gave away free cds to everyone, which I already had downloaded from their website, but it's cool to have a physical copy. Some of the workers at the amphitheater were selling tickets for The Fray for 10 bucks! Super cheap. But I don't care much for The Fray, so I passed. Little did I know that Vedera would be playing at that show. So now I am sad that I missed that financial and musical opportunity. If you have a chance, I would recommend checking Vedera out.

www.myspace.com/vedera

Coldplay Concert Quick Post

Fun times at the Coldplay concert tonight. Ran into my good friend Kyle Anderson with whom I went to last summer's Coldplay concert. When tickets went on sale for tonight's concert, I couldn't wait to see if he wanted to go, so I just went ahead and bought a ticket for myself. I wanted some good effing seats (well, singular, just one seat since I stood by myself). Haha, it's so funny that we both ended up going anyways. I'll have some stories from that concert later on, along with some pictures. My legs are tired, though, and I should get to bed. Good night!

Okay okay, here's one picture from the concert. Just one for now, though! Sorry, it's kind of blurry. Forgive my photographic ineptness. But I assure you that I saved the better ones for next time!

Summer Bookfest '09

Hey, so I am one of those guys who actually enjoys reading books. But I'm batting about .300 for actually finishing books. Let's not think about it that way, though. I like to say that I'm currently reading several books. Just because I haven't finished Harry Potter #5 since I started reading it freshman year of college doesn't mean I won't come back and finish it sometime in the future. Right?

It doesn't mean that you'll finish the book either.

Well, it just makes it sound like I'm a real book worm and I like to read 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 books at a time. You know, it's like my life is simultaneously made up several adventures of various genres. The morning consists of wizardry, with Honey Bunches of Oats, and orange juice. I then walk to class with my good friend C.S. Lewis. Afterward, I take a break between my classes to eat a nice helping of nonfiction. And when the day is almost over, and I'm feeling kind of stressed because I didn't get the right amount of change back at the Coffee House even though I came back and showed them the receipt plus the change that they gave me back, but it was a different girl at the register, so she didn't know what the hell I was talking about and I yelled at her because I just failed a quiz in my last class, but I knew it wasn't her fault, I'm just going through some thangs, you gotta understand, I unwind before bed with Shane Claiborne.

Do you always have a facade when you talk to people? You really make it seem like you want people to think that you have an interesting life.

I was just using that bit as a funny part of this blog, alright? Chill. And my life is wonderfully interesting, thank you very much...

What did you just say?

Nothing. I said that in actuality I usually will start reading a book and, most of the time, enjoy it. But somewhere along the road I stop reading and it's hard to go back. This summer is different though! I am over 200 pages into This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin, and almost 100 pages into Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne, which I just bought 2 days ago.

But that's not really that much. I mean, I read Harry Potter the night it came out. It was a breeze, you know. It was just like, so good. And you read faster if you're interested in the book.

Well, thanks for making me feel like I'm the slowest reader in the world. It's actually a big deal for me to read that much. Douche. But really, I'm effing slow at reading. I think it takes me like an hour to read twenty pages. I'm gonna finish these books this time, though! I'm almost done with Mr. Levitin's book, and I cannot put down Mr. Claiborne's fabulous piece of writing as well. They are both great books that I highly recommend. Also, the font is a little larger than normal in Irresistible Revolution and the pages are smaller, so I'm burning through those pages. I feel like a speed reader, hehe. Also also! The words are printed in BROWN! Sassy.

Hm. That is pretty sassy, I have to admit. I'll have to check that book out, actually.

Yeah.

What book or books are you reading right now?

I don't read books. Books read me.

What the hell is that supposed to- wait that's from Tropic Thunder. That's a really good movie.

Blogging and the Trumpet

As I'm typing this, I'm practicing my beloved trumpet, Yoko. She's a Yamaha, made in effing Japan, son. Actually, I'm just typing right now. But this blogging action is happening in the middle of my trumpet session. I'm kind of typing a bit whenever I take like a 5 minute break or whatever. Like just then, between this current sentence and the last one, I just played #22 on p. 196 of the Arban's Conservatory Method for Cornet. That's long for the Trumpeter's Bible. It's just as thick as a Bible, but filled with wisdom exclusively for trumpet playing. Also, it's a little more physically demanding when I 'read' it.

And again, between the subsequent paragraph and this one. Now I'm breathing a bit more heavily and my embouchure is a little fatigued. Oh no, I've come to realize how boring I'm sounding. There I go thinking everyone out there secretly fantasizes about trumpets and mouthpieces and Sergei Nakariakov, and lip flexibilities and all that. That's a great idea, Gerald! Blog about something you're interested in, but give it too much detail! Holy eff! That's brilliant!

Emptied my spit valve just then. Alright, that's quite enough.

Finding Forrester, Some Hip Indie Writer, and Independence Day

So I watched Finding Forrester for the first time a couple of days ago. Yeah, it was pretty good. I think on a scale from 1-10, I'd give it a 7ish. Above average, but not totally amazing. For those of you that haven't seen it, it's about a black kid from the Bronx, and he's a pretty smart chap, but he hides his book-smarts from his street-smart friends. Anyways, he meets Sean Connery who turns out to be a famous writer and the black kid loves writing too and yada, yada, yada. Sheesh, I really hate writing about crap like this. Like I'm a real film critic or something. I'm kind of just an average guy who likes movies.

But on the realsies. Writing. A lot of the time, when I try to write something, I attempt to make it sound like something that has some... I dunno. I try to sound all... Well, I can't really think of the exact word so much as the exact picture that's in my head. Sometimes when I think of writing something, I kind of try to feel like I'm a classy guy with prescription wayfarers from NYC trying to make money from his cramped studio apartment littered with books and some indie furniture that he spent too much money on. I don't know why he does it. Why he buys expensive furniture. He doesn't really have people over. I mean, he'll have a friend or two every now and then, but since there's not much to do, no t.v. or whatever, they'll usually go out anyways. Because, you know, NYC is a big place, lots to do. Go to the park or something. Window shop at things they can't buy. But yeah, he's kind of got a fan base, but it doesn't really leave much money after he's used his earnings to pay his bills and for his thrice-a-day lattes. The guy dresses like indie hipsters do. Eff, he should really watch where he spends his money. Gets his inspiration from that little artiste in his head who's going through all the same crap he's going through. Like a microcosm of his own life, all up in there in his noodle. Yeah, and he's got a MacBook, which he doesn't really need, it's just kind of the 'thing' to have or to do or to whatever. Like, he's only writing, right? So all he needs is a word processor and the internet to look up fancy synonyms for simple words like 'however,' or 'amateur.' Yeah, he's got iTunes on it with all of his underground, electronic music. But really, he could just as easily have iTunes on a PC that doesn't cost nearly as much, you know? But hey, it's still an artsy kind of computer, I guess. Hm, artsy, artsy guy. *sigh* Yeah, that's kind of the picture I get.

...mmhm.

Oh! That's right. What was that crap about that movie you were talking about? Well, there was this scene where Sean Connery says that the only way to write is to write. When you first start writing, that's all you do. You don't think. Just write. Then, you look through what you've just spilled out and fix the puddle of word vomit that it is. So that's what I'm trying out. It's a lot more fun this way, I think. Just food for thought. Okay, now you try.

Oh, and merry 4th of July. I don't really care about it, honestly. Not that I don't love America or whatever.

England, and me talking with myself.

So I have this uncommon ubsession with the UK.

Wait, did you just misspell 'obsession' so you could make an alliteration?

Precisely. Art shouldn't be subject to rules. So I should just stopfollowingtheserulesrightnowhowaboutthat?

Just get on with whatever you were talking about. Hold on a tick, you even said 'UK' to further emphasize the alliteration. But the 'u' in UK is a long vowel, not a short vowel like the first two instances.

Well, why don't you just shut the hell up and let me do this crap? Is that okay with you? Can I continue without your constant cutoffs?

You did it right that time.

Yeah, well... I've always had this weird attraction to England. I find that a lot of the things that I really like come from there. Okay, so here are some examples... Music! Music is a big one. Check it out. Coldplay, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, Pink Floyd, Just Jack, The Rifles, Damien Rice is pretty good. Oh, and that one song, 'American Boy' is pretty damn catchy if I do say so myself. Movies and television are some other examples. 'Shaun of the Dead,' 'Hot Fuzz,' 'Brassed Off,' '28 Days Later,' Last of the Summer Wine, Top Gear just to name a few things. There is just something about their humor, their art, their culture in general that I just really love. Yeah, and the accents are dead sexy. Brilliant!

Hm. Are you taking me anywhere with this?

Not really. I mean, a lot of blogs don't really serve a purpose like that. You know? There aren't necessarily themes or lessons to be learned or whatever. Sometimes people just have something to say. Some have things they want to share. And then there are others who want people to rave about how cool they are and how hip and effin' eloquent they can be. Definitely not me, though. Come on. I just have something to share.

Yeah.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

It's supposed to mean that I'm being sarcastic. I think you're conceited as ****.

Right. Well, I just really want to go to England some day. Live there? Maybe. But at least stay a while. It's kind of just something that I've dreamed of for a while.

Culinary Adventures in Davis: Hunan

This actually happened quite a while ago. And I've actually been to Hunan before, but that was before they relocated way the hell away to across the street. Now I don't know much about Chinese food other than these two things 1) I enjoy it and 2) it makes me feel like I am one with over 1 billion people. I like to fit in.

I am not Chinese, nor have I ever been to the People's Republic, but I do have a lot of Chinese friends and have actually attended a real hot pot. However, attending one or even a couple of hot pots doesn't make me an expert. For all I know, Hunan could be the Taco Bell of Mexican food. Being from So-Cal, I am pretty familiar with Mexican food. So if you didn't know already, Taco Bell does not meet the minimum requirements to be classified as Mexican food. I'll probably talk about that more in detail one of these days.


Since my last visit was not really within much of my memory's grasp, this review will be pretty short. My conclusion: I like. Gerald recommends. I know, pretty helpful for anyone who is serious about the culinary arts out there (shoutout to Albert Tseng if you're reading this. But if you aren't reading this, then the shoutout goes to a much better friend of mine, Rachel Ray).

That's Adam.

Though you can't see him, that's Jacob.

Another thing...

So I forgot to mention that I'll be posting more blogs since it's summertime. Also, I have a lot of pictures from the end of the school year that I will be blogging about, so this is kind of gonna go back in time a bit. Stay tuned!

Just miles away.

It's been a while, yet again, since I last blogged. But now it is summer and I have all this free time to not worry about school. I decided to spend some of that time cache that I had set aside for summer to blog some more. I was really excited to blog for some reason. But I hadn't any ideas of what to talk about...until I went upstairs and saw the sunset outside.

For those of you who don't know, I'm in Minnesota right now. We moved here last summer. My house may be in Minnesota, but my home is San Diego, if you catch my drift. Aside from the lack of diversity, lack of friends nearby, lack of suburbias and cityscapes, and lack of Pacific Oceans, everything is okay. I will say, though, that it can be beautiful. We have a lake in our backyard, and our house gets a nice view of the sunset. When I went upstairs, I caught this magnificent site. The sky was a giant tapestry of colors. Greens, reds, yellows, and purples, smoothing and fading into darkness as it grew farther from the horizon. The lake reflected the sky with the surrounding trees silhouetted between it and the firmament.

Yeah, it was a site to see, but I feel like Chris Martin said it best...
"The sky could be blue,
I don't mind.
Without you it's a waste of time.
Could be blue,
Could be gray,
Without you I'm just miles away."

I miss home.

What do you miss?

Late Night Blogging

So it's late, as usual. I can't seem to sleep early, as much as it would help my academic performance, and well-being. My housemate, Alwin, and I have come to the conclusion that we stay up late because we don't like to go straight to bed after school is over. We need our pre-sleep wind-down ritual. It's kind of a time where we basically meander on facebook, or do whatever else facilitates vegetation. I just finished an online lab/lecture thing for PSC 41, and I am winding down by eating a ham sandwich, listening to the musical stylings of The Kooks (and other bands which Pandora finds to be similar), and blogging, of course. I need to charge my camera so that I can provide you all with a more tangible sort of insight to my days. Hannah, Ara, and I made palabok today, a Filipino dish similar to Pansit, and Lo Mein. It turned out alright. This is another one of those blogs for the sake of blogging on a somewhat consistent and frequent basis.

Culinary Adventures in Davis: Café Méditerranée

One of my goals during college is to eat at every restaurant in Davis. I told this to someone some time ago, and they said something like, "Oh cool! We should do it together! Except, let's not do the crappy restaurants." While it makes total sense to only go to restaurants that provide an enjoyable experience, I just could not agree with this person's statement. For me, I desire even to go to those less-than-enjoyable restaurants just so that I can say that I had eaten there, and to verify to others the rumors of the establishments, whether true or not, in my opinion. This is kind of the start of a new segment of my blog, recording my culinary adventures throughout Davis. Here goes!



This is at Café Méditerranée, located at 113 D Street. I recall the cashier/waitress having some damn good customer service, so that was a definite plus. I ordered the rotisserie chicken, which I had heard was very good. 'Twas! Ye verily! They serve Mediterranean food like schwarmas, hummus, and...whatever else. I don't remember too much since this happened a while ago. I do remember that Anthony was practicing his insurance interviews on us, and it was quite awkward. That's why he's dressed up in this picture. He wanted to really get into the mindset of an interview. Anyways! I've been to several other restaurants, but don't have pictures to record my visits to them. Guess I'll just have to go back and eat at those places again...Dag nabit!

Fin.

Just Because it's Been Awhile

Called my boss today and gave her my two weeks notice. It will be quite nice when I finish working. I will have more time to practice my trumpet! This blog isn't too eloquent or thought-provoking; more for the sake of blogging because I haven't done so in a while.

Click on it for a better view!
Here is a panorama I made today. The view is from Hilltop Park, which is in San Diego. I took the pictures during Spring Break. In it you can see the nieghborhoods, hills, and my high school! I really miss San Diego. Especially the weather. I'll be sure to post again soon!

Family of God

This past Thursday I had the honor of being the emcee for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship's large group again. It is quite an experience I must say. For some reason I was actually kind of nervous even though I had done it several times before with no problems. I don't really like to prepare anything if I have to say stuff in front of people, whether it's emceeing for IV or praying with people. When I do that, I feel like I try to prepare too much, and I care more about people hearing me and judging what I say. When I talk to people about public speaking, I kind of tell them that they should just be themselves. If you're just comfortable with that, then the crowd will be comfortable too. Don't get me wrong, though. There are boundaries! But that night I felt like I had prepared too much what I wanted to say, even if it was just one story that I had planned to share with everyone. So I wasn't really myself, which tripped me up.

However! In spite of my self-consciousness, I get a flood of compliments. I don't really feel I deserve all that, though. But it is still very encouraging! ** I was really taken aback by what Bryce and Anthony Yu had said to me. They both had told me that they really see God using me. Sometimes I do lose sight in my purpose as a child of God. Although I do forget that from time to time, I am still so amazed to see that God still uses me for his will and His kingdom and that He still uses me to positively affect others.** Before I had dismissed everyone, I had the opportunity to take some pictures of the audience so that they can come to my blog/facebook and witness the sea of beautiful faces that I see whenever I have the chance to emcee. It's great to really look at God's children gathered together like that. I get the same sort of feeling when we worship together. Just hearing everyone singing praises to the Lord sounds so beautiful. Sometimes I stop during worship to listen to that glorious sound.

So I tried to make this a panorama using Windows Live Gallery, but it turned out kind of weird because the pictures were shot at slightly different positions... Anyways! Here is my beautiful family!





**This was some stuff that I feel that I should have mentioned in my first draft of this blog...

Scenes from the Week: 1 March 2009

I won't see home this spring.
I would kill for the Pacific,
But I'm paid to make girls panic while I sing.

Alright, so part of that is true. It's true that I won't see home this spring break, and probably not until summer. But I wouldn't kill to see the Pacific, though I do miss the beaches. Oh, and I'm not paid to make girls panic while I sing. That last bit was more to finish the rhyme to this verse taken from a song by Brand New. But the point is that I really miss San Diego.

Here are some scenes from my week...



The classic college student. Commonly found near sources rich in coffee which it uses for fuel in order to more efficiently attack its prey, which consists mostly of textbooks. Aaron Brown is a cool guy. So glad I met him.



On Friday I was at Trudy's in the Tercero dorm area waiting for my student manager to show up so that she could put me through orientation for my job. I waited for something like an hour and a half because I didn't check my text messages and thus didn't see that she had wanted me to come at 4. It was such a beautiful day. Coincidentally, I had my camera with me. This particular picture is of the Tercero DC. I really love the angles. I really like photography, but I wouldn't even consider myself an amateur photographer. This is a start, though.



Another view of the Tercero DC.



This is my former Bible study leader. His name is Peter Rystrom and he has been a great influence in my life. Thanks to the Lord for placing him in my life. He is also a current participant of Mustache March. It's only been like five days and his stache is already super nasty.



I woke up around noon today. I went downstairs to eat breakfast. Naturally, waffles were my first thought. Because it was noon, Scott was making lunch. He was making a burger for himself. As I took out the box of frozen waffles out from the freezer, Scott says to me, "Hey, you should make a waffle burger!"

Scott's best idea yet.

I am

I feel really disgusted with myself. I realize that I just hang out with certain girls because they have a pretty face. And with that lust on my mind it's so hard to develop a deep, meaningful and platonic relationship while I'm holding on to these ulterior motives.


I feel so cut off from people sometimes...


I feel so fake.


I dress to impress. I act to please. I am egotistical. I, I, I.


I want to love girls for who they are, not what they look like. And I know I'm not there yet. The evil of this earth has shown me its definition of beautiful and its words are seductive and charismatic. But I know that God has made me better and smarter than that. This needs time. This needs trust.

Please pray for me.


ashamed.