Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Fine.

I don't normally do these chain letter style posts. I always feel bothered about them, because most of them are odd questionnaires about "What's your favorite fruit?", "Write all your answers with one word", or some shit. But, when one just kind of lets you make the rules...

...it sparks my curiosity.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

[I was tagged, but I won't be doing any tagging. I'm a rule breaker, what can I say?]

1. Yes, I have gone through punk and emo phases, and no I don't regret either of them. I had hair to my shoulders, colored it bright red, blue, had a mohawk and a fauxhawk for a bit, and wore spiked bracelets, painted my nails black and wore eyeliner...gotta love Tiger Army and Anti-Flag.

2. I used to have a pet duck, three pet red-eared sliders (turtles) and a tortoise. Our family has also had about nine dogs and three cats. I remember all their names and what they looked like. I sometimes secretly get sad around my friend Jessica's dog Kessie because she looks like my first dog Dallas that died when I was five. :-(

3. Every year, my brothers and I take turns playing practical jokes on my parents for April Fools. When I did it, I convinced them that I had knocked up my girlfriend at the time, and we eloped...my father wouldn't speak to me for months, but my mom thought it was hilarious (mostly).

4. I am deathly afraid of heights, spiders and dying alone.

5. I used to play violin...for about five years. My family moved, and where we went, they had no idea what an orchestra was, and there were no private tutors in the area at the time...so I saved money and took up bass guitar.

6. My dream used to be 'being an Olympic athlete"...that was only four years ago. It's since been shattered, but at least I got a nice slap in the face to let me know the world is not fair.

7. I have mild insomnia, and will go on bouts of sleepless nights or force myself to work on three hours of sleep. Get me tired enough, and I'll tell you anything you want to know, even if I really don't want to say it.

8. I once had one of my little brothers throw me through a wall, had my older brother shatter a sliding glass door trying to hit me with a rock, and he one of my brothers try to kick my ass in front of his friends to look cool...and that's all just rough-housing.

9. Until we finally got to chose our own haircuts, our parents chose for us. I went through a mushroom cut, a mullet and a flat top...when I finally chose for myself, my decisions weren't much better.

10. I have asthma, so I won't ever use cigarettes, hooka or bongs. Often when I decline types of smoking, people always call me a square. But, when I tell them "I have asthma" most of them apologize like crazy...

11. I wish i could own a baby polar bear, because they're adorable as young, and adult bears are frightening, huge and powerful creatures that are to be feared by all...but if I could train it to love me, I would ride it.

12. I like cursing in other languages, because oftentimes I forget what I'm saying. Plus, profanity translates very well in tone and diction: Kisama! Guerca Chingada! Fathangu! Connard!

13. I am a nerd. Not a secret, but it doesn't always come across right away.

14. I wish I could be a rockstar, but have since settled for the idea that I could be a tech journalist...travel to Japan, go to big conventions, try out the newest in gadgets and gizmos and just write.

15. I have a portfolio of about a dozen songs, a few poems and short prose, and two stories. The first story I have was stuck on chapter three, and I lost my muse. The new story has made it to chapter six, but again I lost my muse...I want desperately to finish that story, and have it printed someday.

16. I have minimal experience in Karate, Tae Kwan Do, Aikido, Jeet Kun Do, Kendo and (surprisingly) Swing Dancing. I know that last one seems unrelated, but if you ever make fun of the fact that I like to swing dance, you have been warned that I can kill you.

17. I hate Target. Not because it's bad, but because I worked at one when I was younger.

18. I over-tip when I have a good waiter or waitress, because I've also worked in the food industry, and it blows...I tip men better, because I also know women get better tips.

19. When we were kids, my brothers and I would watch old saturday morning cartoons like the Mario Bros., Sonic The Hedgehog, G.I. Joe, Ghostbusters, Transformers and a few others. I still record cartoons on my DVR just in case I feel like having a kid-day.

20. I say the word "balls" when I'm particularly frustrated, mostly because I think the English have a good thing going with "bollocks" and we overuse the word "fuck" in America.

21. I do have a list of what my perfect woman would be, but I don't let women know what they have or don't most of the time...I will, however, tell them their rating on a 10 point scale if they bother me enough...but typically that results in the loss of a point automatically.

22. I wish I could have met Bruce Lee and Jesse Owens. They were such badasses.

23. My favorite thing about stories, mythology and literature are when the heroes are portrayed as human...bitter, cynical, torn, vengeful, stubborn and not-omnipotent.

24. One day I want to own a lake, surrounded by Japanese cherry blossoms. The blooming and wilting are two of the most beautiful sights in the entire world, because the bright pink and white petals land on the lake's surface and cover it like snowfall...oh, yeah I also love Zen as a concept.

25. I want to fly a giant robot. And rule the world. Yeah, that'd be cool.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

"The time has come for colds and overcoats...

...We're quiet on the ride,
we're all just waiting to get home.
Another week away, my greatest fear.
I need the smell of summer,
I need its noises in my ears.
If looks could really kill,
then my profession would be staring.
Please know we do this cause we care
and not for the thrill.
Collect calls to home
to tell them that I realize
that everyone who lives will someday die
and die alone..."

- Brand New
I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light



Long walks across campus on a cold night are a fun and interesting way to catch colds. Interviews in the rain are also good times. I'm not complaining though, because, frankly, I haven't accomplished as much on a single day in months than I did yesterday.

I also started smiling for the weirdest reasons this weekend...

I think it's because I had a great weekend. Aside from the obvious Thursday to Friday block of debauchery, I met some new people and got a large amount of work done (not exactly fun, but fulfilling). There's also one more thing, which was a pleasant surprise: my parents came to visit.

I used to have this "get out of home, get away from the parental unit" mentality, but somewhere in the midst of being so far away, both parties learn how much they really appreciate short moments of family ecstasy.

Whereas I used to argue endlessly with my mother over the smallest things, now all we do is smile when we're near. And my father still gets so down, but now he's re-growing up and learning to cope with life when my mother is far away.

I like seeing him grown up, because then when he's with her, they're both like little kids. It's endearing, I promise. It reminds me of the time all of the time my father took my brothers and me to the Insights Science Museum for a HUGE exhibit called "The History of Video Games".

It was right after we moved back to the Rio Grande Valley [link might break eventually], and my mother was still living in El Paso. We were up visiting her, and he was just trying not to be sad that we would leave soon. He didn't realize how many classic arcade games would be at the exhibit, and once he saw Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. right next to each other, he was in hog heaven...

...he slowly let his mind slip from his worries, and just had fun. He also kicked all our asses at those games, but we've since gotten better. But, that wasn't the highlight of the day.

You see, our dad used to talk and talk about this game he loved more than any other game in the world. It was called Pengo and it was a puzzle/adventure game that involved pushing blocks of ice around to kill enemies, and maneuver around a map. When one of my brothers found that game for him at the exhibit, he welled up and all but bawled in happiness.

Being a kid...or rather, feeling like a kid again...it's a nice feeling. I'm slowly slipping away from my childhood mindsets, and finding myself more worried about everyday tasks than about having fun. Every now and then I get a small break from that, and I just. Smile.

"When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things..."

- 1 Corinthians 13:11

I'm not big on the good book anymore, but I have my reasons. Still, sometimes it reaches people in a manner that reflects into all our lives. At any rate, it always reminds me of this webcomic that used the quote in the very last slate they ever printed:

Machall

It was a bittersweet moment. They printed it right after graduating from college. They though they would never be able to do the comic again...but, a year later they started anew. Now they are back in full swing, running Three Panel Soul. Sometimes, you don't always have to keep the childish things bottled up...

...I think taking a swig every now and then is good for your health.
So, Cheers! Kanpai! Bottom's Up!
Now, I gotta get back to homework...



Over and Out,

David


p.s. all classes were canceled this morning due to inclement weather conditions (a.k.a Ice Storm). Texas fear the cold, so we get a day off. It's good, because now I get to read my Poe, watch more TV and never leave the apartment...until tomorrow. This is why I love winter.

Friday, January 23, 2009

To the moderately feint of heart...

...this blog will not be aimed at you.

Instead, take some blood thinners and perhaps some Vicodin to ease the headache pangs you're bound to endure reading my posts. Typically I write in a cryptic manner so as to hide the truth from the people around me.

I don't like lying to people, but I have no problem withholding the whole truth.

For instance, when I write about events I particularly hate, I will be much less inclined to actually name the actual event than to just say "at this event." Or when I talk about people, I most frequently find myself using one of the many associative descriptions I have of them in my head. Sometimes it will be a nickname I have given them (and only them), and others it might be a description, such as "back-home", "office-guy", "redhead", "action-jackson", etc.

If you find yourself recognizing anyone in the article, please refrain from referring to them by name in an comments made. If you think it might be you, but you're not sure, here's a general rule of thumb: it's not. Even if it turns out to be you after all, it's just better for you to have thought it wasn't.

Why? To maintain your own anonymity in my posts.

I will often refer to myself in pseudonym, and the same rules apply: even if you think i'm talking about myself in third-person, please don't make the audience aware. It keeps the ambiance of the posts at a nice strong level.

For now, just mull over these ideas. I'll have a more in-depth post soon enough. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll even do a vlog from time to time. We'll see.


Regards,
David