Saturday, February 28, 2009

Pizza Party

My parents, sister, and I were invited to John's parents house for a pizza party. My sister didn't want to go because she claimed she had too much homework. I figured they'd order a half dozen pizzas from Papa Johns or something, then we'd sit around and snack on pizza all evening.

John wasn't there, but that was ok. His sister, V, was there. When we arrived John's mom was in the kitchen cooking hamburger. I was like oh... so we're early and she hasn't got around to making the pizza. I knew that his mom used to manage the Shakeys, and that is actually how my mom and her met years ago. It wasn't until John and I were in 1st grade together that we realized our mom's knew each other for a lot longer. I thought we were having a hamburger pizza, but then John's mom began carting ingredients outside and my dad helped. I thought it was just salad and dessert since I saw a lot of that on the kitchen counter. Again, no. There was salad and dessert, but we were carting toppings out to cook on the barbecue. EVERYONE WAS MAKING THEIR OWN PIZZA ON THE BARBECUE. There were 15 of us at the party and we made 15 pizzas.

John's dad had me go first. I was nervous. Was I making my own pizza, one for everyone, or what? Why me? Well, I went. He told me how to roll the dough. I have never made a round pizza- no joke- I've posted a pic of my pizza before. It is always square. He showed me how you make a circle, then I rolled the dough out with my hands. When it was ready I chose from the 10 or so toppings- onions, mozzarella cheese, hamburger, turkey breast meat, cashews, bell peppers, mushrooms, parmesan, pepperoni, tomatoes, and a bunch of other stuff. I loaded mine with onions, hamburger, bell peppers, mushroms, and pepperoni. It only took 10 minutes on the barbecue. I was amazed that John's dad did this because I knew it could be done, but I had never seen it in person on a backyard barbecue. John's mom, dad, and I worked at getting the pizza onto the barbecue. John's dad had me monitor how the pizza was doing, then called me over 2-3 times and we peaked and debated whether or not it was done. Each time he said just a minute longer. Once my pizza was done I was given the pizza slicer and cut up my pizza. I had a slice and John's dad announced the first pizza came out. A couple people like my mom and the guy sitting next to me tried it. He announced he hadn't died. Everyone did something a little different on their pizza. My mom did all meat, cashews, and mushrooms. One lady did cheese and olive oil. We only had about 2 pizzas left when we were all done eating believe it or not. I was amazed how more dough just kept popping up and a new person was up making a pizza. We joked a couple times we should do a dessert pizza with a cinnamon crust, brownies, and stuff like that. John's mom put garlic in the dough, though, so that wouldn't have been good. We spent about 2 hours talking and making pizzas. There were 3 on the bbq at once.

Once we were done making our pizza we broke into the dessert. Everyone was eyeing the big cheesecake my dad made. He made one at Christmas with family that went over really well, and this one did too. Nobody believed it was just the basic jello cheesecake mix you buy in the store with extra vanilla and a few other things added. My dad was writing down the recipe for all the women. John's dad broke out the card deck and we played a game called "KILLER." There were 15 of us, so we used 15 cards from the deck and one of them had to be an Ace of Spades. The person who drew the ace of spades was the killer and had to kill people by winking at them. The trick was to not let anyone catch you being winked at. It was funny- the first game took 45 minutes because it took about 20 minutes before someone was winked at. We were all sitting around in a circle talking about random things, looking around. Finally John's mom was winked at and said she was killed. Everyone thought my dad was the killer because of all of his eye contact. It was John's mom's brother. The second game my mom was the killer, though one of the women thought it was me. Nope- it was my mom and someone guessed it was her because everyone sitting at the table across from her had been winked at. My mom did it well- I didn't think it was her. The final game everyone thought my dad was again the killer, or me. It was the guy across from me. He winked at me 3 times and I didn't realize it until the 3rd time. I said I was killed and everyone laughed because they thought I was the killer. The guy across from me just got everyone at his table and so that's why. This was the guy who was talking nostop in all the games. I am glad I was never the killer because it would have been so obvious.

It was 9:30 when everyone started to leave, so we got ready too. We stayed around another 30 minutes talking about work, my parent's cooking, and a house John's mom showed us this summer that was so strange.

Fun night overall.

Clubbing with Carl and his wife

I blogged about Carl a few weeks ago. He is a friend from my Spanish class whom is gay. He has an ex-wife whom is a lesbian and lives in Baltimore. She is out visiting her family in the area and him. He married her for insurance purposes. He is 29 and is an ex-military guy. I called him earlier today since I hadn't talked to him all week or seen him at school. After I called it dawned on me his wife was visiting.

He called and asked me if I wanted to go clubbing with him tonight. He said we'd meet at the gay coffeeshop in town. I agreed. We met at 9p.m. I arrived about 10 minutes before him and his ex. We all introduced, shook hands, and hugged. Then we went in and ordered our drinks in the coffeeshop. It was fun. The barista refused to help Carl, but helped me, then I rubbed it in her face. She was only kidding around, but I wasn't going to drop it that I was friendlier. I told the barista to make me something blended and with caramel. Whatever it was turned out pretty good. Carl's ex, Kristen, met up with 2 or 3 of her friends from an alternative band and showed us their studio and artwork. This was all above the bar where this incident transpired. Carl kept asking me if I had been to that bar or that coffeehouse. I said I was at the coffeehouse last weekend for school, but didn't elaborate on the bar details and actually became a little mad when he brought the bar up, which he did 2 or 3 times. It was his old hangout. His ex and her friend smoked a cigarette, then we took off and went to the nightclub.

At the nightclub (it was the one Gonzo and I went to and I did karaoke way back when), Carl paid my cover since I didn't have cash and he told me to repay him with a drink. We go in and he runs into an ex of his from 10 years ago. Carl is 29. The ex also knows Kristen and buys all of us drinks. I take a Jack and coke. We go out on the patio and his ex and Kristen smoke and we all talk. His ex is a nurse at a big hospital in the area. We all took turns at the bathroom. Carl runs into the owner of the club, whom he is good friends with. The owner is in his late 50s or 60s. I believe and is married to his partner of 30 years or so. It was fun because he recognized Carl. He asked if I was keeping Carl in line. Carl said he is getting his bartending license and then offered his services to the owner. The owner said he was interested. He also joked that we are gay guys and we can grab each other's packages and do things in gay clubs we wouldn't do elsewhere. Carl mentioned it was my 2nd time there. The owner said asked how many times we were at the mall and saw a hot guy, but couldn't touch. I said all the time. He joked and grabbed Carl's ass and dick, then grabbed mine. It was kind fun to see how open he was and how his partner didn't care, but also how relaxed and welcoming the atmosphere was. We all talked, then went in to see the drag show. The drag show featured Diana Ross songs. So tonight I saw my first drag show. During the show, Carl had his leg up on mine, then I rested my hand on his leg. His ex was rooting us on and saying we needed to kiss before the night was over. We didn't, but we enjoyed watching the drag show. His ex was calling me out for being a virgin drag show guy, but the dancers didn't notice. I bought Carl and his ex drinks while the drag show was going on. Carl was friends with the bartender and got us $3.00 drinks. He had a madory sour or something. I told him I wanted a Long Island Iced Tea. Since he is bartending he asked me what flavoring I wanted since there are 5 variations. I wanted a Tokyo Iced Tea, which is more melon based. It was strong and he acknowledged because it had 5 times the alcohol. I was feeling kind of buzzed, and here, 2 hours later at 2:30a.m. I'm still buzzed.

After the drag show, we all go out and dance on the patio and talk. His ex talks about how they met, school, scars, random stuff. Small talk. Then we go in and dance. We dance to Katy Perry, Rihanna's "Disturbia" and "Live Your Life", and Womanizer by Britney Spears. His ex was very insistent Carl and I grind up on each other and stuff like that. There were a bunch of latino hotties there with girlfriends, or who actually appeared to be gay dancing, and that was hot and cool to see. Latino guys always seem to be so macho, and these guys were, and gave off that vibe, yet they were at a gay club. I was kind of feeling the buzz and was actually encouraging Carl and we were the 2nd couple out on the dance floor after it opened up after the drag show. HIs ex said I must really like to dance and it was apparent. LMAO. WOW. That was surprising, but i said yes. We grinded up on each other, him and his ex did the same, I grinded up on his ex. I was grabbing random guy's asses who were dancing around us, mostly in part because they were doing the same. Then I danced and grinded up on his ex, so I danced with a lesbian.

The bar closed down at 2a.m. and we went out to the parking lot and talked about the constellations (because his ex had a Google Android phone and it shows where the constellations are just by holdign the phone to the sky). We got shooed out by security. I was still a little buzzed, but was sober enough to drive home. I couldn't believe a Jack, as well as the Tokyo to do that number on me, but it did.

So here it is 2:30a.m. and I'm home and I broke my drag queen show virginity, had a Long Island iced tea, and danced with a lesbian. All in all a productive night I'd think.

Again, just so the record is straight, though Carl and I danced, squeezed, grinded, etc. on each other tonight there is nothing going on between us. It was just a fun night out, and yes, there was awkwardness there knowing that she was his ex and random stuff like that. It was just a cool night to hang out with a friend.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Saw Gonzo and her boyfriend driving

I was driving home from dinner with the family and was at a stop light on the highway I live off of. In the other lane on the other side of the road I saw Gonzo. I see her and start to wave and don't expect her to notice. She never sees me whenever I see her and her boyfriend together. This time she does and we wave ecstatically at each other.

I text her quickly (while sitting at the stop light)
Me: I c u
Gonzo: I saw u!
Me: Stalker
Gonzo: You started it
Me: I was in my car minding my own business. Gosh.
Me: As Marian Carey would ask, "why are you always up in my business like a wendy interview?" (a line from her song "Touch My Body")
Gonzo: It's MARIAH Carey thank you very much
Me: Mariah is mine, sista
Gonzo: That's fine. You could have her. She likes black people.
Me: Is sista not black enough for you?
Gonzo: Whitey.
Me: Rawr. Cat fight.



'Cuz if you run your mouth and brag about this secret rendezvous
I will hunt you down
'Cuz they be all up in my business like a Wendy interview
But this private between you and I

Yay for amusing me for 5 minutes.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The iPhone catches a lie

No, closeted, I just want you to know this isn't to make you sit, salivate, and want an iPhone even more. This is just a recounting of events today.

My nicotine obsessed grad student had office hours today, as she does every Tuesday from 2-6p.m. Half of our class is not on campus on Tuesdays- myself included. I have had to talk to her about each assignment since instructions she had given were so vague. I was busy today- had to sub, then go to the bank, and to Office Depot for a IEEE-1394 cord. My school is a good 15 miles out of my way.

On Feb 24, 2009, at 11:45 AM, Mike wrote:

Dear Nicotine Addict,

In assignment 2, you commented I cannot write. Could you please tell me what I could have done differently in assignment 2? I have attached a copy.

Also, what exactly is the difference between assignment 2 and 3? The instructions are the same for both, and I can't seem to differentiate the difference between the two.

Thanks,

Mike


She writes this back minutes later:

On Feb 24, 2009, at 11:51 AM, Nicotine Addict wrote:

Mike do you have time to come by my office. you do not know how to write. please stop by and I will explain once again.


I e-mailed her and explained I was not on campus, but at work, could she please let me know, or could I meet with her later in the week. I ask her if we could meet after 12p.m. tomorrow. She said 12p.m. would be better.

Since her office hours are from 2-6 I decide to dash over to the campus. When I get there at 3:45, this is on the door:





I wait around, stare out the window, then go over to the library. I walk around all 4 levels looking for her after waiting 20 minutes at her door.

I finally email her and say:

Feb 24, 2009, at 4:24 PM, Mike wrote:

Hi,

It would work out best for me if we could meet at 12:00 tomorrow, Wednesday. Let me know if this will work.

Thanks,

Mike

Sent from my iPhone


I avoid saying anything negative, though I waited for 45 minutes and couldn't find her, and was on campus. In hindsight, I could have probably said that I was going to swing by the campus and could probably be there in _x_ minutes. I didn't think of that then.

On Feb 24, 2009, at 4:28PM Nicotine Addict wrote:

Sorry I cannot meet at 12. I am in a work shop. What other times are suitabled for you? I will be in only after 1:30 when the workshop ends.


Funny, she e-mailed me while I was standing outside of her door, yet she wasn't in her office, and she e-mailed me so quickly. I finally e-mailed her and said:

On Feb 24, 2009, at 4:30PM Mike wrote:

I am sitting outside your office- I can meet now.

Mike

Sent from my iPhone


A minute later she writes back:

On Feb 24, 2009, at 4:31 Nicotine Addict wrote:

I am sitting in my office. Come in!


I try to turn the knob on the door and it is locked. I knock. I knock harder. As I am fuming, walking away, she comes running up the stairs on the outside of the building with her Starbucks. And she told me I just need to elaborate in my writing and describe everything. Couldn't she have told me this in the e-mail? No. I felt so awkward being so blatant and telling her I was STANDING outside her door. I hate liars. I do love that I caught her in the lie, and I think she was embarrassed by it.

Monday, February 23, 2009

GET TESTED!

I have written on here MANY times how scared I was to go get tested alone, how I wanted to go with The Guy, and how we said we would. Things happened however, like the whole Josh incident, us not hanging out for a while at the beginning of January. He is the only person I'm comfortable enough to go with because he is a great friend, but also I've had sex with him. Going with Gonzo would have just been awkward because then she would have been able to deduce I've had sex. I have made myself sick over it many times before, especially with people like Stalker Mike constantly bringing up the question.

Back on February 6, an ad ran in our newspaper that the AIDS Center in my city had free testing everyday through this Friday from 1-6:30. I made a promise to myself I would do it WITH or WITHOUT The Guy. I told myself I was going tomorrow- not like the I'll do it tomorrow, but I really did plan to go tomorrow. However, I sat in my class this afternoon and after talking with a friend about it online the only thing I could think about was how I'm having to wait and put myself through another 24 hours of agony. I wasn't going to do that. I was literally sick. Stomach hurt and I had a headache. I DIDN'T HAVE MY ANXIETY MEDS HOWEVER, AND I COULD EASILY FEEL AN ANXIETY ATTACK COMING ON. IT WAS BAD. My teacher let us out of class 30 minutes early, but even if she let us out at the usual time I would have had 90 minutes to go down there and get tested.

So I drive downtown and look for the building. I have to get my iPhone out and map out the location. I realized I was sitting across from it the whole time, but there was no sign on the building.

I go in and a blond Spanish girl helped me. She had me fill out the paperwork, which I was apprehensive about. It wanted things like my social security number, only if I wanted to provide it. It wanted my address, then to know my sexual activity. I wasn't going to give my social and didn't. When it came to address I couldn't think of which one to give- my home address, mailing address, or my grandma's address. I finally decided on my grandpa's old address. The house is in foreclosure and so why not? I give her the paperwork and she takes me in the lab. She explains how it is a 99.9% accurate oral swab test, asks why i came in, and if I had questions. I knew it was. Easy. Good. I sit in the waiting room for 20 minutes afterward pensive, making toast on my iPhone (an app on my iPhone). It got boring quickly, but I was trying to do something as mind numbing as possible.

The woman helps a guy who has some questions about getting a girl pregnant that I overhear, then the guy who was sitting in the office comes out and walks back and forth with my papers and then test. I get nervous wondering why he walks back and forth. Finally, he asks me to come into an exam room. I go in and he asks if I had any questions. I said no. He said he wanted to let me know that I was

NEGATIVE

He told me to wait there and came back with a goody bag for me. It had 3 dozen condoms and a dozen flavored lubes. I called my friend and left a voicemail with him, letting him know that I had the test, and that I heard what I wanted to hear.



Guys, it is easy. Just do it. It definitely puts your mind at ease. My anxiety was gone almost immediately after.

This morning

6:30a.m. - Phone rings
ME: I'm laying in bed, sleeping. I get up and check the caller ID. It is my sister, so I decide to let it continue to ring and go to the answering machine.
Sis on the answering machine: "Hi Idiot, It's Sis. Mom just wanted me to call you because you didn't do the dishes this weekend and they're piling up in the kitchen."
Me: I just kind of laugh because I always do the dishes in the morning as I'm making breakfast, and know she is just trying to cause problems.

8:30a.m.- Going into the kitchen
ME: I go and start my breakfast, open up the dishwasher, only to find my sister didn't empty the dishwasher and it was completely full with clean dishes.

8:38a.m.- Instant message
Sis: "booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooob"
Sis: "boooooooooob is an idiot and didn't do the dishes"
Me: "actually I did, I not only did your dishes that you failed to take out, but I put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and cleaned up the counter"
Me: I thought you were at school, and in class by now.
Sis: "oh your still an idiot"
Me: "have a good day"
Sis: "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw little boooooob is trying to avoid confromation and sounds so cute using such cute words"
Me: "have a good day"
I go into invisible mode and continue to receive messages
Sis: "i will i have friends that love me"
Sis: "i'm not the idiot who doesn't do the dishes"
Sis: "mommy and daddy love me"
Sis: "little boooooooob is in trouble and he got scared its soooooooo cute"
Sis: "come here boooooob"

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Free 2 months at the gym

The LA Fitness I go to has been remodeling for the past 3-4 months. The first thing they did was move the treadmills from upstairs downstairs, making things more crowded. Then they took out a bunch of the free weights and moved the treadmills there. Then they took out about half of the treadmills and put them in the rooms they have the exercise classes.

Then about 3 weeks ago they took out about half of the upper and lower body machines. We have 2 leg extension machines, 2 seated leg curl machines, and a calf extension machine. That's over half of the machines gone; the leg extension, hip abduction machines, standing calf, seated leg press, and the other calf machine.

They took a bicep and tricep machine, 2 ab machines, a deltoid machine, a couple shoulder and chest press machines. They left the cable row machines nobody uses.

It has been 3-4 months and the remodel is still not done. You now have to wait 5-10 minutes for a machine, and a lot of the machines are gone, so you have less options to work out with.

I was slightly annoyed last night and decided to complain to the Nikki, the manager. I told her that I am paying good money to come here each month (really only $8.50 or so- we're on a family plan with 4 people for $34), but I didn't feel that I am getting the most out of my membership and was inclined to cancel because so many machines are gone, and working out can be an all day thing with having to wait for all of the machines. I said that it was unacceptable and was very upset. She said that she would give me 2 free months, which should be how long it takes to finish the remodel. Good.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Good days

I had a wonderful day at work and with my mom's friend Linda. We snuck out of work during our prep (since we had the same one) and got food. We talked, ate cookies during lunch, random stuff. She actually gave me a good perspective on reasons I should go to the school I just got into as opposed to the one I'm currently at for my credential. Who knew hanging out with Linda could be fun?

The Guy has had 2 good days. Yesterday was just great and today wasn't so bad. I called him about 7p.m. just to see how he was. He called me back at 9:30p.m. tonight. He is doing better. He'll forgive Josh. He will insist to be friends that Josh must go to therapy because it was pretty heartless how he treated The Guy, even though he may have messed up his relationship in the straight world. Jeff has been texting Josh. Jeff got Josh to admit he fucked up, but it didn't come immediately. Josh was saying like "it isn't in comparison to what The Guy did to me, he fucked me over," etc. etc. Jeff said I doubt it because I've known The Guy for 4 years and everytime I fuck up or fuck something with him, he is there, even after people fuck over him he is there. Josh relented some after this and said he knows he fucked up, he just needs space. So Josh will probably come around, but I knew that. The Guy just talked about moving on and stuff like that. I told him about my day at work, with Linda, my car situation. Um... it was $991 to fix my car. So we talked- my main goal was just to see if he is ok, and he was.

Oh... and last Saturday night Mike- the guy I have the restraining order against violated the restraining order by calling me. Um. he was arrested, but released within 24 hours. I should have told my dad Sunday, but I didn't think it was a big deal- now it is more serious and I told him tonight. He just said he was upset at me for not telling him sooner, but he knows, just be careful, etc. etc.
Not exactly like this bag, but very similar (without the flap), but it holds a lot...
I'm tempted to go to Fossil this weekend to buy a new messenger bag. I just bought one 2 weeks ago that was supposedly like the one I had- except is missing all the extra pockets. This one is a Fossil bag. It was $98, then marked down to $49, and now it is half off that. It has a built in computer sleeve. It is a beige canvas bag, and it just screamed buy me. I had a hard time justifying it because I don't have the income I had because of the tutoring gig hours being cut, but it was exactly what I wanted. It kind of looked like this, but nicer.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

At least she's honest!

My sister is applying for scholarships to have her winter tuition covered next year because she wants to graduate early and it isn't covered by the group that is currently paying for her tuition. She had to write an essay about why she needed the money and get this- here is her response:

"My studies have proved critically important to me throughout this passage of time with aspirations to graduate early. My parents are nearing retirement with the completion of many years of work, but can't afford to retire because they are constantly doling out money to fund my brother's college education and my brother is also very high maintenance. I will be ensuing a degree postgraduate in speech communications to be able to look at and help those of minority backgrounds with speech."


Wordy and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, no? So she is ensuing a degree and she's going to help minorities or something. And I'm high maintenance. Normally I'd be offended by that because I don't think I am, but for her to foolishly write that in her essay is fine and dandy with me. Only reason I saw it was it was on my parent's bed and it was there while we were both brushing our teeth. I peeked when she was turned away, then brought my computer in and blogged.

- In another note I hit a big pothole on the freeway today on the way to a college admission interview for a teaching credential program. I was doing about 65 and the pothole was probably 3x5' and no avoiding it and 4-5'' deep. Caused me to get a flat tire, broken hubcap, broken tire rim, and need for a major alignment (and possibly suspension problems). My car is only 6 months old and has 10,000 miles. I was able to pull to the side of the freeway safely and the tire was replaced. I was only 1/2 mile from the dealer when it happened- the dealer is a good 20 miles from my house. Made it to the interview (25 minutes LATE- but I would have been 25 minutes early) and was admitted to the school. I am driving my sister's car tomorrow.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Monday night drive

I was on facebook tonight chatting with best friend down in Mississippi and Jenni from high school (the one I was worried about coming out to). Patty randomly messaged me. Patty is a girl I have known since I was 3-4. She went to the same church as me when I was young- the one I grew up in. We have seen each other maybe 3-4 times since I stopped going to the church in 8th or 9th grade. We had a lot of the same friends, although she went to a different high school, so we found each other on facebook and of course added each other. Then there were the few "Hi," and "how are you?" messages tossed back and forth.

So imagine how surprised I was tonight when I got a message on the chat on facebook tonight asking how my visit to the Apple store went yesterday (my status on facebook was that I was at the Apple Store.) I said great. How are you? What are you doing these days? What are you going to do after you graduate? Then she asked what my favorite drink was. I was unsure, but said Dr. Pepper. That was such an odd question. She said "MINE TOO" enthusiastically and asked what I was doing in 15 minutes. I said nothing. She said good. She asked if I wanted to be picked up or we wanted to meet. I live out in the boonies so I said I'd meet her somewhere. We decide on Panera, where she works. We meet at 8:15p.m.

We do the "oh, hi, how are you, I haven't seen you in so long" and hug. Then we go in, she says she needs 2 drinks, and she has the hookup because she works there. Free Dr. Pepper. She filled her drink first because she doesn't require ice, so it takes her less time to fill her drink. She gets me a straw and lid in the meantime. She said she hoped I didn't have any preconceived notions about where we're going. I said no. She said good, because she was driving. We head out into downtown. She is a huge history fan and drove to the oldest cemetery in the city, she shows me the courthouse, and other stuff I knew about, but we talked about. We both knew alot, so that was cool. Then we get on the freeway and drive as far as the badlands on the 60 freeway. Then she gets off and flips around, then we weave through the cities in the area just taking. We talked about what we're doing, work, school, family, and stuff like that. We talked about our old church, which is apparently in foreclosure (SHHH.. that's top secret- her cousin is the bookkeeper for the church). We keep getting letters about how they are having difficulty and encouraging members to donate $1 a day, $5 a day, or $50 depending on income because even in hard times, it is important to sacrifice and God will provide.

We end our drive about 9:45 and then sit in the car chatting for about 15 minutes. I make a comment about her listening to GoCountry 105. She is like me and doesn't like CDs, and gets tired of iPods playing the same stuff constantly. She turned up the radio and they were playing Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" (MOST OVERPLAYED COUNTRY SONG EVER- IN MY OPINION) and she turned it up and we both sang it. We both agreed we'd hang out soon and maybe this weekend when she is hanging out with her group of friends (one of which I know).

I love random drives like that!



Edit: 11:44p.m. update... Caffeine is seriously a drug. I've mentioned before that about a year ago I stopped drinking soda except when I'm eating out. I feel like tonight I'm on overdrive and jittery. No caffeine before bed! Bad! Evil!

Coping with friends

I called The Guy Saturday afternoon and texted him. He got my text several hours after I sent it and a bunch of random texts. I don't recall what they were about, but nothing as scandalous as what my sister sent out. Not sure what is going on, but he called to confirm it wasn't me. I told him I was free everyday up until Wednesday and would love to hang out. He called me back sounding genuinely interested saying he wanted to hang out. I texted him yesterday morning about 10:35 asking him if he'd like to hang out today since he had mentioned Sunday. No response- no big deal. I texted him about 12 or 1 I think asking him if he could please reply and let me know if he got the text since my text thing has been weird and I'm not sure who is getting what. He called maybe 15 minutes afterward and asked what I was up to. I told him on my way to Victoria Gardens to go to the Apple Store for a power cord replacement. He invited me to stop on by after I was done if I had time.

So I drive over to his place. He is laying on the couch watching a biography/movie on Beatrix Potter's life. He told me how he was watching sappy movies. He was playing WOW also. Jeff called maybe 30-45 minutes into me sitting there. The Guy told me to answer his phone. I did- Jeff was wondering if everything is alright. I said yes, he was playing WOW. Then The Guy had me put it on speakerphone so he could talk. Jeff wanted to see he was doing OK and The Guy said he'd like it if he'd come and play WOW. Jeff shows up probably an hour later. I get my computer shortly after, then patch for the game, and run around my own in the town of Stormwind. I was completely lost and forgetting how to get out of it. I told The GUy I couldn't remember and he reminded me to hearth to get where I wanted to go. Made things much more easier. Jeff laughed and then The Guy made fun of him for having a hard time and still learning to play also. YAY. So The Guy and Jeff quested around together since both were level 73 or so. I was only 65 and needed to be 68 to get to the area they were. I didn't like playing alone, but being there with them made it fun. We watched "Saved," "Serenity," and "Sex and the City Movie" while sitting, playing on the couch. I hadn't seen the Sex and the City movie. We play for almost 7 hours- from about 2p.m.-9p.m. We did take a break and spent lots of time wondering about dinner. We talked about sushi (hehe), steak, and a few other things. We finally decided on steak and rice from an expensive restaurant up the street from The Guy. He ordered and I went to get it since I wasn't questing around with him and Jeff. It was about $24.00 for each of us and there was little food. The Guy joked he could do this because he wasn't supporting a freeloader now.

It was fun watching "Sex and the City" because there were funny parts, but we were also deciding which characters we were. The Guy is Carrie- he is a writer, he has lots of boy troubles, a great group of friends, and he has the quick witted remarks. The Guy's best friend Zach is Samantha with being so straightforward about everything, "wax much?" I thought I was Charlotte- everything is a fairytale, very romantic, happy ending. The Guy said that was Jeff, which I highly disagree with since Jeff seems more like Miranda to me and we argued about that. The two of them decided I was the gay wedding planner in the movie.

There were a lot of jabs at Josh while we were sitting on the couch. First, before Jeff arrived he talked about how he wondered if this was over. I told him it probably wasn't. I'd hope Josh would come around to apologizing. He cried asking me about what he could have done differently being cornered by Jackie and how it was basically a no-win situation.

Jeff left about 9p.m. when he had a friend coming over. "Sex and the City" was in the last 30 minutes and I knew he would break down. He did. He told me how much it hurt. How there was no closure to this; how if Josh came back, he would readily take him back; how he is going to therapy now and hoping to grow from this situation. He talked about how he wonders if Josh will come around, if he misses him, and things like that. The Guy talked about things like how worried he is about going back to his old weight. He broke down when he talked about things they did together, how hurt and rejected he feels. He cried about how he tried and really feels deep down he has done nothing wrong. He talked about how he spent $20,000 in 6 months on him (he only makes $4,000 more per year than that). He talked about how he was living on pens and needles throughout this time, yet he was happy at times, but had so much anxiety and worry about what Josh was doing. He talked about how he helped Josh with school, work, family, friends, and everything was just there for him (protein powder, school books, shakes, clothes, money, etc.) He talked about how he added Josh to his health insurance and now Josh has health insurance, but he is unsure whether to cancel it; he said he probably won't. He was tracking Josh's cell phone usage (remember- he is on The Guy's plan). He noticed he kept getting a call from the 626 and some from Fontana. He was calling these 2 people repeatedly. He noticed Josh hadn't been texting and I told him it takes a while for texts to show up. He was debating as to whether to cancel or what. He said he may today. He was worried Josh would come today demanding all of his stuff back and he was thinking what would make him hurt the most, what to say, and things like that. He said he was hoping this wouldn't come because it would be like the end. He talked about how he does have no regrets. He talked about how everyone hates Josh, especially his brother, parents, and Jeff. In a couple questions he asked about Josh's treatment and dealing I think I provided some insight. I talked about me almost being forced to come out because of my Aunt in Nor Cal, when I met him I was just exploring my sexuality and could have been outed, things like that, and how The Guy was always there, always supporting, and he has that comforting thing to him, so I would have never have treated him this way. If I were in a relationship and outed because of it with The Guy I may be in a panic for a few days, but then I would have picked up my phone and called him. I talked about how a couple times I've felt like I've really fucked up our friendship, yet I am on the phone within a few hours or so to apologize because I don't want to lose him because of all of his support (monetary and emotionally). He talked about how he feels Josh is at a real loss because he knows that he does enhance all of his friend's lives, though he isn't perfect, may be lazy etc.. I completely agreed.

After this, we settled down and watched a little bit of "The Mummy Returns" until 1:00a.m. or so. I was exhausted and falling asleep when we called it a night. It took me about 30 minutes to get home. Not bad.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

A sister rant- restaurants

I've blogged before how we can't go out to new restaurants because my sister would object, finds something she won't like on the menu, or something of that variation.

So for Valentine's Day my dad wanted to take the family out.

Sister won't eat Mexican. Sister won't eat Italian (unless it is from Sbaaro, Dominos, Fazolis, or Cocos). She won't eat Cask and Cleaver, Outback, or any steakhouse. Sister will not eat Applebees, Arbys, Del Taco, Chilis, Togos, Chipotle, Macaroni Grill, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, BJ's, Wienerschnitzel, Mimi's Cafe, and many others. Sister won't eat barbecue anything. Sister won't eat fish because fish are friends. So trying new restaurants is hard whether it is sit down or fast food.

Sister will only eat something at Cocos, Carrows, TGI Fridays, Panera, Jack in the Box, Burger King, and McDonalds. She will only go to the Olive Garden when forced. It's no wonder she looks like she has gained 40 pounds this year.

We have 4 new restaurants at the mall- PF Changs (sister only likes Chinese food from the hole in the wall place we go to- so that was out), Cheesecake Factory (she doesn't like their food because they put lemon juice on the chicken strips -so she says), Elephant Bar (she doesn't eat fish, they don't have normal food, and she cried they were waaaaaaaaaaay too expensive), and Yardhouse (she complained there were probably too many drunks around because of all the beer they sell and the food because I like it was probably $20 a plate, so that was out). The restaurants have all been open for 7-8 months, yet Ms. Bitch, bitching and moaning about why she doesn't like about each one prevents us from going. AND SHE HAS NEVER BEEN.

So where did we end up? We spent 45 minutes arguing about where to go and that just sucked all the fun out for one. Second, the bitch went on her usual diatribe about how I'm trying to bankrupt the family with my expensive tastes. I said no- it is nice to try a new restaurant occasionally. Mom felt like playing her side- mom said that there is nothing wrong with routine, and I pointed out how we always go to TGI, and while I like it, it is because that's one of the few places Bitch eats. So mom misunderstood me and was mad and is still mad at me for insulting her and her likings. I said she misunderstood me, explained what I said, then I don't know. Sister told my mom she sees how it feels that I treat women so bad, why I never have had a girlfriend, and things like that. Good. I'm spending the night alone in my room with people who love me.

Edit: Think I made up for my issues. I went out to Target for some retail therapy. 3 cool t-shirts for $12.99 a piece, Seasons 1-3 of "Sex and the City," and "JAG" Season 1. Saw a friend Grant from K-12 there and chatted him up, also saw Mr. C (My boss's hubby) buying a Valentine's Day Gift. I told him he was bad for waiting until the last minute and I could tell Mrs. C. He laughed and said he knows I want to keep my job. I made a stop at Dairy Queen for peanut buster parfaits for my mom and sis, and a malt for my dad. See... that's the kind of guy I am... I am a nice guy... I don't like enemies... I like to make up.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Progressive night/dinner

Carl is a kid in my Spanish class. I have mentioned him before- never in any great detail on this blog, but he has come up I I'm pretty sure. WHen I hang out with him we usually watch movies or go to bingo. He just got his bartending license and I hadn't hung out with him in a while, so since I was having a hard night emotionally I wanted out. I knew he was free since I talked to him in class. He was talking about how he loves to go out for drinks on Friday the 13th in class today.

So I was sitting at home and something just happened with my Aunt in Nor Cal that upset everyone. Rather than hear my mom talk about how upset she was and wrong this is, and get upset about the issue I figured I'd just call a friend. I figured it would be fun to go to a bar since Carl just got his bartending license, he could tell me what was in the drinks, but also he likes going out for drinks on this day. I called him up and was at his place 30 minutes later. I said we should go to TGI Fridays because it was Happy Hour so drinks and appetizers were 1/2 off. He ordered a mojito and I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. Then I had him tell me how to make both of the drinks when they arrived, which was fun. He was able to rattle it off with no problem. The Long Island Iced Tea was ok. Since appetizers were 1/2 off I suggested we order the Artichoke and Spinach Dip. We used drinks to catch up on each other's lives- his job hunt and me being busy with school.

It was still only 5:30 and Carl said if we got in the car and rushed back near his house there was a sushi place that was having happy hour until 6. More drinks? No. 1/2 off sushi. I'm not a big sushi fan- I've had California rolls once or twice and was never a fan. We went in and he knows already I'm not a sushi lover. So he asks me what I like. He asked if I liked cream cheese, so ordered me a roll with that, then a California roll. It was OK... not great... I stomached it... I knew I could. Actually the cream cheese roll was pretty good. We each had 2 rolls for about $5.50 per person. He showed me all the cool features on his Sprint phone like live TV and while that is nice, and I was a slight bit jealous, I remembered my iPhone trumps that. Mine has a bigger screen. And one day it'll will probably be able to show live TV. Maybe?

We were out of there by 6:30 and still hungry. What to do... what to do... We decide to go to Chick-Fil-A for fries for and cokes. Total = $5.00

We decided to walk through Target to pass time and bought a bag of popcorn for $1.09. We still had our Chick-Fil-A drinks. We walked around there and got bored quickly. I suggested we see a movie since the theater was right there. He didn't care what we saw, so I said we were seeing "Confessions of a Shopaholic"- the biggest chick flick out right now. I said he made me do some things I wasn't fond of tonight like trying the sushi, so he was doing something I wanted. Carl is gay and I am too, so no big deal. It was an OK movie.. it had cute moments, but the plot seemed to be lacking. Carl admitted he liked the movie.

LET ME SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT HERE- I HAVE NO ATTRACTION TO CARL- WE ARE SO UNALIKE MUSICWISE, THOUGHTS, IDEAS ON LIFE. WE DO BOTH LIKE TO EAT AND ARE TAKING THE SAME SPANISH CLASSES. ONLY COMMONALITIES. HE'S NOT MY TYPE AT ALL, BUT A NICE GUY.

After the movie we were still hungry, so we hit up Del Taco for chicken tacos. He had 3 and I had 1 for $4.59. We ate them in the car and listened to Depeche Mode as we went back to his house.

It was about 9:30 by the time we were done and I figured things were all calm on the home front.

So in summation:
TGI Fridays, RA Sushi, Chick-Fil-A, Target popcorn, movies, and Del Taco = lots of fun

Long Island Iced Tea and Mojito, plus artichoke dip = $13.55 + Tip = $15.00
My sushi and his sushi = $11.00 + Tip = $12.00
Chick-Fil-A = $5.00
Target popcorn = $1.09
2 movie tickets = $20.00
Del Taco= $4.59
= $57.68
= I paid for drinks and the movie tickets = $35.00

Fun times, though. Worth the money.
I'd love to do this with another friend or group of friends where we have a little progressive dinner. I have always wanted to do one of these with friends, and had no clue tonight would work out that way. Lots of time in the car, listening to good music, talking, and trying new things. This would be totally fun to do with a boyfriend or something like that. Or even just a night where you grab dinner, then sit in the car and talk with the guy you like... I can dream.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Guy lost him

Last Sunday night I posted things were turning around for Josh as he was going to see a therapist, The Guy spent last Friday night trying to persuade him suicide was not the answer. Things were looking good. The Guy was having a hard time, but now whatever has happened has been made worse.

The Guy had a knocking at his door on Monday morning. It was Jackie. She came with a motive. She wanted to know what The Guy did. She needed someone to talk to. She didn't understand what was going on with Josh- why he didn't come out sooner, and things like that. The Guy let her come in to protect Josh- if Jackie told her mom word would get out amongst Josh's friends that he was gay. Jackie said she has questioned Josh and knows things like Josh's weekend in Vegas was not a firefighter training thing- it was a night with The Guy. The Guy just kind of sighed at it showing that he knew he was caught. She saw the new mirrors The Guy has in his dining room and yes, he bought Josh some too. So Jackie asked where The Guy got them, and he said IKEA, like Josh did. The Guy tried to be positive and basically just said he can't go into him and Josh's relationship, the details as to why Josh is doing what he was doing, and things like that.

Monday night The Guy received a call from Josh saying to FUCK OFF, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY LIFE, things like that. The Guy was really hurt by that, but managed to hold up until today. The Guy hasn't had contact with Josh since then. Josh told Jackie he saw a therapist, but the therapist supposedly said it was just a stage, he was definitely not gay. Lie? We think. We know. We don't know what has happened to Josh over the past couple days. The Guy has speculated that he is going to basically start hanging around with the wrong people- the trainers who don't really have a future, may turn to drugs, won't deal with any of his feelings.

The Guy and Jackie have been talking to each other at least twice a day since Monday. I have been meaning to call The Guy since Monday, but I've had a cold and lost my voice Monday and Tuesday. Given his recent lack of texting, I didn't know whether or not he'd respond, so I wanted to wait to call.

So when I called The Guy today I heard music blasting in the background. He told me he had a really hard day today- he just did the motions at work and came home and Joe was going to come over to hang out with him. He cried telling me that Josh told him to fuck off. He told me how Josh said he wants nothing to do with him. He told me how hurt he is that he lost his best friend, his soul mate, and his boyfriend. He said Josh was his boyfriend- they had sex, they had dates, The Guy showered him in gifts, and they spent time together. Then he went on about how he can't believe after all of this Josh is pushing him away. I said it is a bit much to handle, and I wouldn't really expect him to handle it any differently. I mean if I were outed like that I'm pretty sure I'd be crazy- say and do a lot of crazy things. He said he didn't know- he just can't fathom everything Josh did. The Guy talked about all of his support. Then he said Josh will probably comes back when he runs out of money, he needs a new snowboard, new sunglasses, or new shoes. I said I hope he wouldn't be like that. He cried and told me how when he bought Josh a pair of shoes he'd be happy, but then run off and show Jackie and ask for her thoughts and what Jackie said mattered. I just said I hope he'll come around and that he wasn't using The Guy like that for things like that. So basically The Guy is at the point where he feels like he was used by Josh, but also that he was his boyfriend, trainer, and best friend, all of those things are gone. The Guy is crushed.

We talked for about 15 minutes until Joe showed up. I am going to call him this weekend to see that he is holding up. I wish I could do something more- I will probably suggest us going out for dinner one night or something to just hang out and get out of the house. I wish there were something I could say, but I know that I can't minimize that pain. But when it comes to advice I don't really know what to say.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Yes on 8 donors website

Just heard this on the news and looked for the story online. It is a website exposing the vicinity of where prop 8 donors live. In addition, it gives their occupations and the amount they donated to the cause. I like the breakdown, but I'm just wondering what you guys think. Is it an invasion of privacy? What do you guys think about this?

In my area the 2 conservative school board members each donated $500. In my immediate area, there are probably 12 people who donated, none of which are people I know. I like that it shows who donated and the area much more easily than most sites. But maybe zip code would be less invasive? I just hope that this doesn't cause some who voted no on 8 to retaliate against those who voted yes.

Here's the maps

Monday, February 9, 2009

That concert the other night

The concert the other night at my school was HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE. Ryan didn't go. Dennis didn't invite Ryan like he said he was going to. Dennis doesn't like big group outings. Dennis is very introverted and more than 2 is a big group. We met up at 7:30 and had to wait 25 minutes in the line to enter. We stood in line talking about school. Mainly my graduation plans and what I want to do. We entered the concert and maybe 10 people were dancing in the dance tent. We walk around the area talking about school, work, and teaching. Then the concert starts at 8:15 with Circa Survive and well, Dennis and I just huddled around watching. When they said we need people to clap, etc. I did that and made a fool of myself mainly to see if Dennis would loosen up. He didn't really. He just kind of stood and swayed back and forth.

So here's a rundown bullet style:
- Nasty mud- it poured and the rain just made everything worse
- You can see the pics below of what we were standing in- shot these photos today, but it was very similar Saturday night
- People were tripping in the mud, losing shoes in the mud
- Whatever some of those people were smoking was nasty. There was a girl blowing her nasty ass smoke that smelled like tire tread into my neck
- Circa Survive's lead singer said FUCK every other word
- She Wants Revenge was boring
- N*E*R*D* was more or less better than the rest
- Yes... I saw Ferrell
- Um... there were some drunk ass people... there was an asian girl so drunk she had her pants pulled down and was peeing standing up, in the rain, in front of everyone, and nobody cared
- Dennis did loosen up a little bit and swayed back and forth


An outing

I just happened to sign onto connexion last night- just for the hell of it and I clicked on the chat icon to see who was on. I saw The Guy's photo. It was about 6:00p.m. and that to me sent numerous signs. One- he is lonely because he rarely signs on that. Two- he is probably having a hard day. Three- Something probably went on with Josh.

So this told me a couple things and I figured I'd call him up to see how he was doing. I get in the car to go to the gym and dial his number. He asks what's up with me and I tell him about school and my nicotine addicted professor. He asks if he can call me back later about 5 minutes into the conversation and I said sure. I hadn't heard from him in about 45 minutes, but still wanted to talk so I shot him a text that said I hoped to talk to him later and see him soon. He called me back saying he hadn't forgotten about me. He told me how difficult things have been. Josh was outed the other night by a friend of his and Jackie. Backtrack for those of you who haven't been following closely. The Guy has a major crush on his trainer Josh, whom is presumably straight, and has a girlfriend named Jackie. He told me that Jackie was told and broke up with Josh immediately. Now Josh feels extremely guilty and nonetheless is feeling really bad about himself and possibly hurting himself. Josh's mom is extremely worried and is getting him in to see a therapist today. The Guy has spent the weekend trying to be there and support Josh, yet he was feeling alone last night and needing support, so that's where I came in. He said he was getting a massage from a guy at 7 and would be done about 9. To call him about 9 and we'd hang out.

I call him at 9 and he told me to get over there about 9:45. I said that sounded good. I get over to his place and the door is locked. I knock, The Guy doesn't even hug me and goes back and lays down under the covers. He tells me he is watching a new show called "Law and Order." There is a brief pause in telling me that where he gives me a moment to see what it was and I chuckle. I use the bathroom, then come back and sit on the couch. We chat and his eyes are red. He tells me what is going on with him and Josh. Josh texted him that needing to be alone thing early in the morning, then texted him after dinner when he got home, and that was it. The Guy was worried, wanting to text him, and things like that. We both agreed that was great for a guy wanting to be alone. The Guy talked about how worried he was that he'll lose Josh. I reassured him I doubt he would because he is a tremendous support for Josh (especially with dreams and ambitions) in ways that Jackie isn't. Josh has been pulling back from The Guy lately. Josh told The Guy in a text "he needed the day to himself." He also has stopped calling The Guy "cutie," "sexy," and other flirty terms. We discussed all of this laying there on the couch, him laying down, and me sitting at his feet. We watch 3-4 episodes and he is dozing off throughout some of the episodes. We talk a little about me and my therapist. I told him if anything it is helping me to view my sister in a more negative light and distance myself from her. Another thing that is helping me not worry about everything/feel alone is to make myself busy constantly. It isn't like I sat around before, but finding a way to make sure I'm doing something at every moment of the day. If I'm watching TV I'm reading a book, something like that, so my mind won't wander.

The best line that probably summed everything up was that it isn't about The Guy- it is about Josh. Josh comes into the picture because this is probably a huge turning point in his life. Him being outed was probably his last chance to be heterosexual and Jackie was his last chance to be heterosexual. Now he is going to be seeing a therapist and talk about his feelings, as well as other problems he is facing.

After the "Law and Order" ended on the Tivo there was a show on called "Meet The Spartans." THAT WAS HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE. It looked to be a parody of a lot of TV shows and video games, but it was terrible. We watch the last 15 minutes of that, then since it is 12:45a.m. he decides he should head to bed. We stand up, hug each other, then he thanks me for coming out.

I get home about 1:15 and as I'm driving home encounter the strangest thing. As I'm about to descend into the canyon below where I live I see the sky over in the southeast is lit up in green and there were green flashes. I tried to take photos of it on my iPhone unsuccessfully. The green "cloud" was about 50-100 feet wide it looked. It flashed just like lightening. As I drove out of the canyon and climbed the hill I noticed how the power was out where I live and everytime there was a green flash the street lights flickered. Was it a transformer blowing or something? I dunno. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I hung around in the driveway when I got home to see if I could see it again, but it didn't happen. I did hear 3-4 emergency vehicles as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep, so maybe it was something?

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Progress


I think my shoulders are a lot more developed in this photo. Shoulders have been my focus lately at the gym.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Your dose of music and entertainment


Here's the video from the concert last night- she just stops singing and gives up in the middle of the song

This video amused me... and by the way Pink and hubby are rumored to be back together...

He's still alive

Chatted with The Guy earlier this week. He was having a really tough time. Josh is back with Jackie. He called me, which was a nice surprise. We were playing phone tag that morning. He tried calling me 3 times only to get a busy signal. I'd pick up the phone only to get a busy signal. I texted him a few minutes after and he got the text 4 hours later. He was worried Josh had tried to text him, but didn't; maybe he had the same problem. I called him today when he was probably at the gym and said I'm around if he'd like to talk, hang out, or something this weekend.

I had been wanting to wear this awesome sweater pictured below since I got it from my aunt at Christmas. It is a blue Hollister sweater. I was sporting that and a pair of blue Lucky jeans. My boss at the high school commented me saying how great I looked in this sweater. I got 5-6 other complements on it today. That was a little surprising, but awesome. My mom also noticed. She asked when I got that sweater since she didn't remember it, how great it looked on me, and she said it 4-5 times in the course of an hour or so.


(Please ignore how messy the room looks- I didn't make my bed ((shame!)), but the papers you see on the dresser are my tax forms... so it is organized)

On another random note I'm usually pretty mellow while driving, but today for the hell of it I had the highway I live off of all to myself and decided to floor my little car up the hill to see how high I could get the RPMs up. I got it up to 7,500RPM at about 65mph. That was fun. At least it wasn't pouring rain when I did this and the roads weren't slick, otherwise I wouldn't have done this.

And here's something else I've been doing this week... subbing... I was at one of the schools I rarely get to sub at on Tuesday and had a GREAT TIME. I love the administration of that school. The AP or Principal walks you to the classroom, tells you if you have any problems, not to hesitate to call them. Then they come and check on you periodically to make sure everything is going well. I was amazed by one class I had. We had a great discussion about a story they were reading on a family with 14 kids- 8 of them were adopted from different backgrounds (no, not the 14 kids born to that crazy woman who had the artificial insemination over in Bellflower recently haha). In the book it had an opener activity to the story about whether or not you want more brothers and sisters, younger or older? I started telling the kids about me- I have a younger sister and I'd love a younger brother maybe that I could do guy things with and share mutual interests like cars. The kids were so excited- they RAISED THEIR HANDS (GASP!) and were telling me like "I have 5 older brothers and I hate it because they constantly make fun of me for being daddy's little girl and getting good grades." All of the kids were so respectful and took turns. All of them wanted to share their sibling horror stories or their stories about how great lots of children are. They marveled at how I only have only 1 sibling- most of them were from huge hispanic families. Never have I had a classroom read aloud or discussion go as well, but also kids who were so respectful. I left the teacher a note and told her after school that these were a great group of kids.

Tomorrow night I'm going to a concert at my school with Dennis and Ryan. Should be fun. I'm not really familiar with the bands. I know one of the bands and vaguely know their songs, but we're going more just to hang out. Hopefully it isn't raining since it is an outdoor concert. I guess I am tackling the whole go to more concerts thing... haha

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Ideas about the future

Things I plan to do...

- Ask Mrs. C and Mr. P for letters of recommendation tomorrow
- Find a good short story- any story- to use to create a screenplay. My only problem? I can't think of a good English short story. Most of the stories I'm thinking of are Spanish stories. It doesn't matter what- the only prerequisite is that it is a short story. Ugh. Must search and find. I can't think of anything in my literature classes I've read either. Any ideas?
- Go to a concert. There is a big concert at my school this weekend. Dennis and Ryan invited me to go with them. Well, I guess that's a part of my goal on going to more concerts (and with friends!)
- Smoke less! Haha... had to throw that in for Closet and Dan, as well as the readers who commented or e-mailed (Ryan, Dunjin) me about that. I don't smoke- I have done it on a handful of occasions, but it was a party, people were being crazy, and so I joined in. Haha

This brilliant idea came to me at 3:40a.m. this morning. I was sound asleep, but woke up suddenly when this thought crossed my mind:
- Create a blog for some of my writings because I find that a lot of the positions I'm applying for want writing samples that have been posted in blog format on the internet. I can post some of the stuff I've done in journalism classes (I have a really great sports investigative piece), an editorial or two, a couple product reviews, and writing samples from my classes.) I haven't really written anything in Spanish however that I can think of worth putting up there- most of that stuff is movie or literature responses.
- Also create video blogs with that- use my video camera, iMovie for editing, and piece together some video blogs (thus showing my editing skills and creating demo tapes somewhat, or at least an on camera presence, which is good)
- One idea is that I have written a couple product reviews, so I want to get my hands on the products again, post my reviews, but accompany it with a video review and demonstrate what I am talking about.

Don't worry... this blog is going nowhere... I have too much fun writing about my life and experiences.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Yeah. I have those rotten professors.

I had a realization today when talking to a friend about our university experience I have only had 3 professors for upper division classes. The 11 other upper division classes I have taken have all been taught by graduate students. No joke. Is that not the saddest thing? No letters of recommendation for me that say DOCTOR John Smith etc. etc. haha. Anyways, I think I am going to try to get my Native American Lit professor to write me a letter of recommendation this quarter. Today in class I kicked ass. She was talking about some documentary which I had watched in my anthropology classes and I was able to tell her the significance of the documentary, the anthropological perspective, etc. I knew more about the documentary and the relevance to the area than she did, and she knew the movie makers. haha

Then I had my Nicotine Addict Grad Student. That's my new name for my professor for my 3 hour class on Mondays. This woman started class the first day by saying "who smokes?" 5 or 6 people's hands shot up. She asked when we wanted to take our smoke break. She said she would like a 30 minute smoke break about 3:30. Last week Nicotine Addict Grad Student started class by saying "have we all had a smoke and cleared our heads?" She admitted she hadn't, so she needed 10 minutes to go out and smoke 2 more cigarettes. She must have been really stressed last week because she gave us a 15 minute smoke break every 45 minutes. She manages to bring smoking into everything she talks about. Today smoker came out of her mouth 5-6 times. She said we need to know if a character smokes, we need to know if they chain smoke, we need to know if they smoke socially," and so on. In her culture if someone offered her a cigarette, she couldn't turn it down. It would be unlady like. I had to give a presentation on the film "Frequency" and while I was giving the presentation, she pointed out that Dennis Quaid was definitely a good smoker. How can someone take this woman seriously?

"Frequency" is one of my favorite movies by the way...

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Super Bowl Make-Up

John's parents hosted a Super Bowl Party. John is best friends with the Mike's. I had been watching on facebook over the past few days as John was asking who would be at his Super Bowl Party. John didn't invite me. He invited the Mike's and Randy. One Mike was going to Randy's party and I saw that on John's page. The other Mike, the one I'm closer to didn't respond whether he was going to John's party or not. I was in a dilemma up until today as to whether or not I was going to go. I was invited because John's parents and my parents are good friends. I was specifically invited to this party because his parents always forget to invite me to their others. I asked friends what they thought about me going. I was going to not go just to avoid conflict. John's parents I'm sure didn't know about the drama going on and I was worried the Mike's and the Mike I'm closest to attending and with his parents. I was convinced I wasn't going until my mom said she would only make 7-layer bean dip if I go.

So we get to the party at 2:40. It started sometime between 2 and 3. We got there in the middle- there were about 5 people already there and about 9 other people showed up after us. We were told to grab food. We say hi to the people we knew. I walked over and shook hands with John and his sister, then got a plate of pulled pork, hot sausage link, macaroni salad (which was delicious) and some rice salad with a vinagrette (which wasn't so great). We brought the 7-layer bean dip and that was gone by 3:45. Everyone was eating it and asking for the recipe. John's cousin Chris went over and told my mom how delicious it was.

John came over and talked to my parents and I while we were finishing eating and told my dad about him trying to become a forest ranger. Some of the late comers sat at our table and my parents knew them, and talked. I sat talking with John's mom, my mom, and dad until the 2nd quarter about 4p.m. My mom and John's mom crocheted for a while. Then my dad got up and went over to meet some of the other people there. I went over and talked to John. He asked what the Mike situation was and I just said that it was a big misunderstanding and I said you and I go way back, you know I wouldn't do anything like texting friends and say I'm glad they lost their job. No real explanation was needed- he just listened and said "ok"-he's not one to say a lot about things like this.He introduced me to his girlfriend's family. John and I stand around talking about random stuff- school, the CBEST, CSETS, and things like that. He is taking the CBEST this month and wanted to know what was on it. I told him. He is possibly going to go into teaching, but would ideally like to be a park ranger. We join the young crowd there and the subject of Bingo comes up because John and family played it last night. I told them about my bingo outing a few weeks back.

John's cousin Chris was playing resident bartender and serving up margaritas, shots, you name it. John's dad was offering up cigars. John's sister Tory was consuming the majority of the margaritas. We ran out of tequila shortly, so John says we need to go to Staters. He asks if I want to go. My dad was sitting outside watching us take off, then my mom watched as we walked outside. We decide who will drive. I offer and John offers. We're both sober. He drives his sister's friend's Toyota Highlander. I sit next to his girlfriend in the car. His sister is talking about being scandalous and getting her HIV test with one of her sorority sisters there, then pointing it out to everyone what she was doing and how embarrassing it was, but she laughed it off. Tory asked if I was going to drink and I said "HELL NO, NOT WITH MY PARENTS AROUND." She said I'm drinking and my parents are around. I said your parents are cool with it, mine aren't. My parents don't drink- period. She laughed and said we'll change that.

We go to Stater Brothers in the 3rd quarter and walk over to the liquor section and debate over what kind of Tequila to buy. We decide on the $30 big bottle, then get a bottle of Jack. Tory asks my drink of choice and I tell her- Jack and Coke. She said we have me covered. We make random small talk on the way home. Tory asked about my drunkest story, so I told them about New Years Eve. She said she loved my story because anything that starts off with New Years Eve has to be good. I just told her what I drank and she was amused.

We get back and parade in with our alcohol- it was obvious what it was. My mom saw it. My dad saw it. Oh well. Chris starts mixing drinks and he says I need a shot. I said "no," and he respects that. Then Tory is watching for when my dad walks inside the house and then she is insistent we take shots. I take shots with all of the guy's there. I take shots with all the guys. Then my dad comes out, so the shots cease. My dad stays out for about 10 minutes or so, but it seemed like an eternity. Once he goes in Chris offers me a cigarette and so I smoke one with him and we just hang out (ok- shame on me), then have a margarita he mixed. John's girlfriend's mom comes over and wants to partake in the shots with us. We do some more tequila shots. My dad comes out, so I forego on the next round. My dad stays out for a while, so I just sit in the midst of all the action. John's girlfriend's mom makes a comment about how innocent I seem. Tory is soon in my lap telling me how drunk she is, how she needs me to watch her phone, and stuff like that. John's girlfriend is drunk also and tells her mom. Her mom just said be a "nice drunk." Her mom kept taking round after round and asking for us kids to pass her the bottle. Judy, one of the mom's there even took a shot, which was surprising. She seems really pure. My dad kept walking in and out and when he wasn't out there I was taking shots and puffing on a cigar (shame, again). Tory lit up a cigarette and John says how bad that is. John's girlfriend put the cigarette out. Had my parents seen me, they would have blown a fuse, but Tory's parents didn't care. In the last few minutes of the game Tory was all over everyone- John's sister, me, him, etc. Chris asked me if I wanted another cigarette and I said no. Chris joked I just didn't want to get cancer like him. I counted and had a dozen shots within the 4th quarter. I also downed a margarita. John didn't do any shots with us, but he did have a beer toward the end.

The game is over and about 5 minutes after my dad wants to leave. I drove, so of course I had to go. I tell Tory I'm leaving and she says I need a shot. I said no, that was ok. She insisted, so she poured me a shot of Jack Daniels Whiskey and I drank. I downed it with some more margarita. I go back in and stand around with John and my parents. They're talking about work. I tell John thanks and he says we should go to Casino Morongo soon. I said I'd see him soon.

We make our way out to the car and my dad asks where we went. I said Stater Brothers. He asks what for. I said Cheetos and "other stuff." He said oh, maybe we should have brought more Dorito chips. In my mind I said yeah, we should have, uh huh, you think what you want. And I drove home. Nobody has ever driven my car except for me and I was feeling fine. I still am. I hold my alcohol well. I know I probably shouldn't have. Yes, we did see the sheriff as we turned off of John's street onto the highway. John lives about 2 miles from my house- and a mile of that is just driving up his street. On the way home my mom just asked what John and I talked about, what John is studying, stuff like that. She asked about his girlfriend, if he was driving back to school tonight (he goes to a UC in NorCal), and I said him and his g/f are napping, then leaving at 2a.m. I know what was going through my mom's mind- they're spending the night together- or at least that's what I think she was trying to figure out.

And the game? Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson rocked it. The game was pretty entertaining, especially the last few minutes there in the 4th quarter where there seemed to be hope for Arizona.

Fun times... I'd swear John's girlfriend's mom would think I'm schizophrenic or something because I wanted a shot one moment, then the next I wouldn't... oh well... fun times indeed. I'm so thankful that I got to have this time with John, especially after what has taken place over the last few months. I've known him since first grade

Goal: go to more concerts this year

I want to go to more concerts this year because I never go. I do want and need to save my money however. I am trying to go and will go to one... at least... hopefully...

LeAnn Rimes will be performing Tuesday night at a theater near my house. It is $50 a ticket, though.

Montgomery Gentry will be playing in my area at a really small venue in March.

Keith Anderson and Luke Bryan (he's hot!) are going to be at House of Blues at Downtown Disney


There is of course Coachella. Really want to go to that...Trying to get Melha to go with me... $99 for a 1 day ticket, or $269 for the weekend
Friday: Paul McCartney, Franz Ferdinand
Saturday: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Band of Horses, Drive-By Truckers,
Sunday: The Cure, Peter Bjorn and Jon



In May we have Stagecoach, the country music festival, which is much more reasonably priced at $99 for the weekend
Kenny Chesney, Kid Rock, Chris Cagle (I want to see him so badly in concert one day and have missed 3 opportunities), Darius Rucker (from Hootie and the Blowfish), Lady Antebellum, and the Zac Brown Band

I'm glad Coachella was thrown in the mix- I'm not as hick as I sound with all of those country artists. I listen to everything, though.