A Not So Great Christmas...

I'm back...and glad of it. Idaho was, how should I say it? Interesting? Thats not strong enough. Weird? Not good either. Dang annoying is probably better though I would use more potent words if I didn't want to be nice. My mood went sour about two days in to the trip and it still hasn't recovered. I locked myself in a windowless half bathroom for the better part of a day because my brother was being an idiot and my mom put her foot down and told me she'd call the cops if she got one more complaint from him about me, among various other things. I'm still not talking to her much but its getting better. But it kinda ruined the fun for the family. sigh... My grandfather got really harsh with me for the first time in my life and kicked me out of the bathroom when no one else could. It was just so shocking coming from him that I kinda just moved. It was our "white elephant" of the trip. There were other disappointments as well but I won't go into them.

There were a few good things though. The house was awesome, except that I couldn't find a quiet place to read whenever the tv was on cause it echoed throughout the house. It was on one of the east hills in boise and had one of the best views of the whole valley that you could ask for. And with clear skies almost the entire time we had some great sunsets and the night lights were impressive. Only snowed a bit the first morning we were there and it only stuck around for about an hour. But it was nice. My family got a new computer so now I have mine to myself. The only reason i'll use the new one is because it has a dvd burner. grr...wish I had one. It'll also be very nice to sleep in a real bed again because I was religated to the floor and a sleeping bag while there because there weren't enough beds. But my brother didn't get one either so that was ok. And I guess excepting the problems with tempers I enjoyed the time with my family. And joy of joys, I hardly heard any christmas music! I am so tired of the stuff!

PS - Hope you're having a fun time over there Daphne. Keep safe!

(Current music: "Never Surrender" from the Halo 2 Soundtrack)

Idaho Bound...

I'm taking a moment off from packing to type. My family is disappearing to Idaho for a week to celebrate christmas with my dad's side of the family. That means one aunt and uncle and a pair of grandparents. No cousins or other relatives on my dad's side, thats it. So it's not going to be a spectacular event this year, not that it ever is. The only thing I can really look forward to on this trip is the company and the scenery. Anyway... I won't be online for a week at least unless my uncle lets me get on his. I might be taking my dad's laptop so I can spend some time writing though. So happy holidays to all...i'll see you on the side.

PS - Have fun wandering around europe Daphne...wish I was there.

Across the Ocean part II...

"Laura Kissed Me"

Laura kissed me when we met,

jumping from the chair she sat in;

Time, you thief! who love to get

Sweets into you list, put that in:

Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,

Say that health and wealth have missed me,

Say I'm growing old, but add, -

Laura kissed me.

By: Leigh Hunt

(originally titled "Jenny Kissed Me")

Spiffy...

Just a quick update. I went downtown yesterday and got myself a spiffy new chinese kung fu type jacket. Black with roll up sleeves to show a bit of white. Frogged buttons and mandrin collar. Very nice. Just the perfect size for me. Its really spiffy ^^ I'll have to take a picture with me wearing it and get it online some how.

*Enter Suitable Witty Comment Here...*

Dare I say it? The quarter...*glances around to see if anything nasty is sneaking up on him*... is over. No don't yell, I don't want the illusion to vanish. I want to enjoy this a little bit more. Tests are out of the way finally and nothing more can be turned in. I managed to get most of my stuff in, emphasis on most there. I really need to stop doing this to myself. I haven't had a normal end of quarter since I was in my freshman year of high school. I need to break this bad habit. Anyway. The car situation is, well, its better then I thought it would be but not by much. Of course I still don't know the full extent of whats going on but i've heard my parents making plans of sorts for a new car. I do know a bit more about what i'll be paying though. At least 250 for each car is coming out of my pocket and I will more then likely be paying the new increase in insurance for who knows how long. Other expenses are yet to be divulged but i'm sure they're out there. With this news comes thoughts about Japan. I've found that I want to go but not for the reasons I thought I did. At least I think thats what i'm thinking. I think i'm being greedy here. The desire remains but I don't want to go through the hastle of planning it all out and putting out the effort to get there. Plus there are expenses and other such things. I want to be there now, be experiencing it now, be living it now, not slaving away to get there months and months from now. Grr...i'm being stupid I know, and lazy too. I'm trying to look at it from another angle and evaluate why I want to go or if I want to go. Who knows, I could just stay here and continue with school. Perish the thought!

F#cked...again!!!

My life has just taken one of the worse turns ever. Almost one week after I had a suburban put a kingsize dent in the rear end of my mom's van, closing the rear loading door until further notice, I managed to rammed into a stopped car on a wet road with my the other family car. Almost no damage to the other car, which is nice, and no one hurt on either side, which is nice too, but our car? Lets just say that it has trouble turning, opening the drivers door, and going anything above 20 miles an hour. Its a 95 corolla thats seen better days and as far as i'm concerned its not worth the fix since my dad has a habit of taking bad care of any care that is labeled as his. One good thing though, the lady I hit as turning into her home and was very nice to me and I to her. We got to know each other in the time it took for my dad to walk from home to the accident(5 or so blocks) and everything worked out very smoothly on her end. Now I just have to face my parents and the insurance people. Right now i'm really wanting not to drive again for about another year. Take me off the insurance cause i'm hating everything there is to hate about cars and the capitalist extorters that are attached to it all. Screw it, i'm riding my bike, even though its winter, or taking the bus, even though I hate it. These, of course, are just initial feelings as this just happened not more then 45 minutes ago. We'll see how I feel a day or so from now when things have cooled down and the results are in. But i'm not holding out for anything good.

Kinda Pointless...

Its nearly nine in the morning and i'm already of the belief that my day is being wasted here at school. My first class of the day was english. It was a first draft review day which means that only half the class shows up and only half of those will have drafts to review. I've never brought in a draft for review and i'm never asked to read them so i'm about as needed in that class as a bump is on a log. Next comes computer class which is well and truely done. All the tests have been taken and i'm content with my grade. So I have an hour and a half to kill. Next is history...ah history. All we have left in that class is the final which is next week. I don't think he'll go into more notes today but i'll show up anyway just in case. How can I say no to history? Then I have another hour to kill before my final class which is political science. Today we turn in our final, which I spent all day yesterday working on, and we can ask her any question on the subject that we want to. She's kept her political leanings very well hidden so that's top on my list. But beyond that we're free to go. Then I go home and sit around for a while before going to my evening math class. I really don't know what to expect from that class even after nearly 2 months of it. So basically my day is building to the point where I hand in my test in PS and go home. Then it begins building again until math. Like I said, a wasted day. ; )

With school winding down and the holidays approaching i'm beginning to think about the new year. With so many things happening in my life this new year will actually be one to remember. It will mark the 1/3 way point through school and show me that I can go nearly three months without seeing my girlfriend. If we can survive this long without too much trouble I have faith that we can get through the rest of the school year. And as this will be my 20th new year I am planning to make it one to remember. No there will be no drinking or anything of that sort, but there will be trouble I assure you. I think i'll ambush a couple of people on the trail or have an all night halo party or something. And before you say it, yes thats what I consider trouble. I know it leaves much to be desired but its good enough for me.

And speaking of ambushing... i've had a fasination with sneaking for most of my life. I would sneak snacks when at my grandmothers, sneak up on friends at school, or sneak bad grades past my parents. But lately i've had a strong desire to go to the next level. I don't exactly know what that entails. I've been eyeing darker clothing and authentic ninja boots if thats any indication. No i'm not planing on robbing someone, just that I want to up my sneakiness level. Kinda sounds like i'm trying to get enough experience points in dnd no? Oh well, its all pointless anyway. ; )

To the girl across the ocean...

"Night"

The night has a thousand eyes,

And the day but one;

Yet the light of the bright world dies

With the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,

And the heart but one;

Yet the light of a whole life dies,

When love is done.

By: Francis William Bourdillon

Hanging On...

"Its almost over, its almost over, its almost over." I need to keep repeating that to myself otherwise I doubt i'll last through this next week. School is proving to be difficult and work is taking up alot of my free time that would be better used for school work. Also the remnants of sickness are still clinging to me and refusing to leave me be. So i'm hanging on...for the moment.

Now for some news from somewhere besides the battlefront. *pauses to think* You know, there is very little news beyond that. I have little time to play or do anything else constructive or interesting outside of the problem areas above. I miss the more care free days of youth already. When I could read for hours without risk to my grades or work. When I could go an entire weekend without touching my school books or even worrying about them. When sickness was greeted with joy because it meant a way to get away from school. But responsibility has crept up on me and clobbered me into submission. So much for youth. Course growing old is manditory, growing up is optional. ; )

Grr...cats are being stupid again. My cat, elvis, has claim to my bed at all times as far as i'm concerned. But our older family cat, the queen sheba, disagrees. She loves to jump up on the bed and scare my big boy away. It doesn't matter that he's twice the size of sheba and could easily whoop her if he wanted to, hes just too much of a weeine to stand up for himself. But now it seems that they've reached a comfortable balance. Sheba has taken the middle of the bed and Elvis is on one of the corners which is where he likes to sleep anyway. Lets just hope it lasts.

Now I must stop. The creatures in my stomach are growing increasingly angry that they haven't been fed yet this morning. So i'm off to make my peace with them at the breakfast table.

Not Cool...

Finals week is almost upon me, I have a mountain of things to do before the quarter ends and on top of all that homework I have my job. So what better way to greet the new week then with the flu?! I almost have no voice, i'm tired and ache all over, and I keep having to avoid sweets and instead replace them with pills. But hopefully things will resolve soon...if not my grades will most likely suffer.

Oh and did I mention? I put a dented my mom's van's back door when a suburban hit me. We were both trying to avoid some stupid kids who were walking in the middle of an apartment street. Needless to say the suburban got off with narry a nick. I on the other hand dented half of the door. It has trouble opening now. Looks like that birthday money's down the drain. *sigh*

But I don't want turkey...!

Its that time of year again...where we eat, and eat, and eat some more, until we're stuffed so full that no one, especially me, wants to look at roasted bird again for some time. Everything we eat here seems so bland now that i've gotten older yet I really don't want to add some unknown substance to my food to make it taste better. So i'm stuck eating the same bland stuff with, if i'm not away at college, the same people at the same location.

So what can I do to liven up my holiday menu? I've got a few ideas, mostly dealing with food nabbed from the chinese take out I work at. I could pour some firecracker chicken sauce or some honey teriaki sauce on the turket to liven it up. Instead of uber-heavy weight stuffing I could secretly stuff the insides of the bird with fried rice....or I could just bring some root beer to wash away the bland taste. *sigh*

A side note to any of you who bother to read my fanfiction. (I doubt there's more then one out there) I will update here shortly, probably during this break if I can spare the time between family, homework, work, and...turkey. I know its been a long time, probably something like 2 months, but blame that on school and work, not me.

20 Somthin...

*Waves little flags and grins stupidly* Well it's happened. I'm officially out of my teenage years. Course being a twenty something isn't much better. We're supposedly adults but we're pretty much ignored still. Twenty is a magic number. It's more improtant to me then twenty one. It signifies i've lived a fifth of a century, probably a third of my life! Time sure does fly.

So what do I get to do on my special day of days you ask. Well I go to work at noon if that's any indication. Not really all the special "event" wise as far as I can see. Kinda sad when the only people who are gonna celebrate with you is your immediate family. No cake, no ice cream, just dinner. So much for childhood. Now I have to get serious and grab life by the throat so I can begin slaving away for the riches i'll never get. Stupid capitalist system! Happy Birthday to me...now i'm gonna go eat some pancakes and take a shower.

Not the Best of Starts...

So far this week hasn't been the best. I've missed assignments, gotten scolded at work for a supposed "attitude", gotten into a fight with my mom, etc. I won't keep listing them. Needless to say that I am having a bumber or a birthday week. Course everything could change by friday. Who knows? SO...to make up for these ugly spots i've buried myself in homework and fanfiction. It really helps to be able to read great fanfiction when i'm feeling a little low or between homework assignments, the same goes for a good anime episode or manga novel though i've got very few that I haven't already watched or read a million times before. A very few manage to retain their incredible appeal through the months and years. For example, I can dive into Tenchi Muyo the movie or SM and still get a warm feeling in my stomach and find a lightness in my chest afterwards. Course the same is true when i'm able to converse with my special someone. The fact that that person usually calls when i'm barely awake is a little bit of a problem but I find it to be one of their more indearing traits. And if that special someone is reading this I expect a wake up call on friday morning so I can start that special day right. *hint hint*

The Stupidity...It CONTINUES!!!

I probably did one of the stupidest things I could have done on a Monday night just last night. I willingly stayed up standing in a line in an otherwise deserted mall waiting for Halo 2 to come out at midnight. I then proceeded to play said game until 2am before finally returning home and retiring to my bed for a grand total of four hours of sleep. (Anyone who knows me knows I can barely function if I have less then 6 or 7 hours of sleep) I have to get up at 6:30 every tuesday and thursday for school. Well I think you can guess how much I paid attention in classes. My first class was, oddly enouogh, English commosition and critical thinking...at 7:30! I then had a test in my computer class, slept through history, which is my favorite subject, and then spent the next hour cat napping in the library. Still feeling low I proceeded to find my final teacher before class and explained the situation. She eventually let me hand in my take home test, which was due today, and take the day off.

Now i'm back home and wondering if I should play some halo before I have to go to math at 6pm this evening. Hopefully by the end of this week i'll be so full of that game that i'll be able to concentrate again on what matters more. Considering I have no more classes this week due to Veteran's day and only eight or nine hours of work before the weekend I think i'll have ample time to indulge in some gaming.

OMG!...Gasp...

I have just seen some of the single most highly anticipated minute and forty seconds of film ever. The preview for Star Wars Episode Three has finally been shown. *Wait for it...let it sink in...ok. Now you can scream* For those of you frantically wondering where to see this you'll have to go take a gander at "The Incredibles" or spend thirty minutes desperately searching the net. I leave you now so I can go drool over every frame

The Hangover...

With elections done and gone I am left with what I have to guess is something like a hangover. There are no longer any signs out on the streets, no advertisements on the tv, radio, or internet, and no people pushing their parties ideals on me or reminding me to vote anymore. Its been such a part of my life for the past three months that i'm having trouble adjusting to NOT having them in my life. I feel dazed and slightly out of whack with this sudden change. This proves yet again that the mass media has far too much control over our lives. If they can leave me feeling like this then i'd say they're a pretty strong influence even on someone who went out of his way to avoid watching tv and listening to the radio for the last month.

Now for something completely different... We've had an odd lull in the weather here. Fall usually signals the beginning of none stop rain here in oregon yet we have gone without now for two days and will probably continue on this trend for a further two. So without rain what is there? My answer...some of the most beautiful days i've ever seen here. The air has never been so crisp and clear. No clouds inhibit my view of the sky above. Yesterday I was riding my bike home from classes when I turned a corner and was confronted with an unobstructed view of my local mountain, Mt Hood. All ready it has a thick coat of white and the sight of it literally made me almost miss my turn. Of course the downside to this is that you cannot go outside for most of the day without at least two or three layers of clothing on. No clouds mean no way to keep the heat in so it has been impossibly cold. I woke up this morning to find the grass and roofs of my neighborhood were frostcovered! Needless to say riding my bike is becoming very difficult as my ears, fingers, and nose are going numb moments after I set off. And thats with beenie, gloves, and muffler on! Clouds of steam rise from my mouth in clouds so thick i might as well be smoking. I've walked past regular smoker groups at school and seen the clouds they emit but on closer inspection found not even a single cigarette among them. I wonder if they still think they're smoking...?

The Big Night...

Argh...As I write Ohio is hovering at 93% complete. The waiting is getting really...annoying. I guess thats the only word for it. Yet again one state has managed to become the make or break prize. Its really sad. But which ever way it goes I can complain with authority...unlike any who chose not to vote. You don't participate you don't have the right to complain. Going to a community college really does bring in all sorts of interesting perspectives. Some of them quite scary. And since i've discovered i'm an ardent supporter of democratic socialism i've become somewhat detached from the whole big argument. After all, the greens aren't gonna win. More at a later date when everything has been decided...which probably means a week at the least.

Cloud 9...

"Good afternoon, this is the captain speaking from up on the flight deck. We've just leveled off at our crusing altitude of 10,000 blissful thoughts. Our flight time is currently unknown which really doesn't matter at this point. It looks like smooth sailing from here on out so kick back and enjoy the ride. If you look to your left you'll see cloud nine there below us with a beautiful red headed angel perched atop it. I think she's waving to us folks. Well that's the news from the flight deck, we'll be starting lunch here shortly. Please feel free to move about the cabin."

I won't go into details but sufice it to say love is in the air once again and the world is better for it. *Grin* Not even the constant rain my area is getting now can seriously get me down. Hmm...that reminds me. I need to get out there at some point when it's really pouring and dance a bit then take a hot shower. Don't want to get sick!

Oddly enough i'll be dressing as a fallen angel this halloween. Up until a day ago I thought it was perfect. I needed to try something new and I had peices of the costume already here because of another costume idea I was working on for cosplay. But now I don't know if I can pull it off. Fallen angels aren't supposed to be cheery and have little hearts floating around in the air above them. *snicker*

Money Calculations...

With my fifth day of work done and my sixth tomorrow I've begun to become conscience of the monitary possiblities of this particular job. I have figured out that by the end of this sunday that I will have worked close to 40 hours since starting last friday and that I will make more then 300 dollars by next thursday when my first check is cut. Of course there's taxes to consider but all in all that will be the largest clump of change i've ever made from one check from anything, be it job or birthday. And i'm still in training! Once my three weeks of training are through I will be able to get tips like the regulars who make, on average, 8 more dollars a day just from customers being nice. When I worked sunday the four people who could get tips got 15 dollars extra in just two hours! I have, of course, dreamed of such things...but to actually have it happening when I don't have to worry about bills or other obligations, besides paying off a class I told my mom I would pay for at my local cc, is blowing my little mind. If things continue as they are within six weeks I can have over a thousand dollars saved up! Someone hit me now!

Just Sittin

Its Saturday afternoon and I have very little to do, or at least that I really feel like doing. It's just one of those days where you're not sure if time has stopped or not. It would explain a lot if time had given up and taken a breather and had a mocca. Course if time did that I wouldn't like him much for a while cause his breath would reek of coffee which would be nice since I kinda hate time already as is. He never moves fast enough when I want him to and whenever I want him to slow down he just sticks his tongue out at me and goes faster. You know the drill.

Well I did finally get a job. I'm workin an asian take out downtown. It's pretty cool. The funny thing is that the next day I got a call from Costco asking if i'd like to be hired AND I got my last check from the place I worked last. Strange no?

Well i'm off to see if I can't make these next few hours stretch a bit. I'm not ready to go off to work yet. *grin*

A Sweet Melody...

"Kiss me and smile for me,

tell me that you'll wait for me,

Hold me like you'll never let me go."

.

I've had this bit of John Denver rolling around in my head lately. It seems somehow fitting with my current situation. I'm not one to listen to "country" music so I, along with a good number of other people, consider Mr. Denver's works to be "Popular Folk" music, not country.

.

Weekend worries seem worse then weekday worries. Is it becuase weekends are supposed to be care free that worries hit you so hard? Or is it just because you're not so busy thinking about other things that they pounce on you? Who knows?

The Blues

School sucks. Let me just get that out there. Life has really sped back up now that school is in the picture. Now if I could only get a job...

The blues have settled in on me over the past couple of days. For various reasons, some outside my control, things have been going sour lately. Homework, late school books, and other varied troubles have all added to the gloominess of the week. The plus side to it is that it gets my creative juices flowing. I tend to write better when i'm in these kinds of moods. Maybe it's just because I can tap into feelings better or something like that. Those of you who have followed any of my fanfiction online know this fairly well. I could even say I like these moods. It's nice to drop into one every now and then. They've tappered off in the last few years as i've gotten more friends and have increased my social life so I find i'm enjoying them more and more now that they're not as regular. Who would've guessed?

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - NP

What a first day...not.

Man what a hell of a day. First I woke up at 10am and HAD to sit down and have a proper breakfast. Then I spent three hours slaving away at my computer on a fanfiction story that I have no obligation to update. After that I filled out a grueling one page job application before heading off to my first class of the quarter which turned out to be a class I could have completed in my sleep. I didn't know a single person who couldn't use a basic word processor or navigate windows with their eyes closed and their hands tied behind their back before today. My view of my computing skills hit a new record high after this evening's class. So all in all it's been a TOUGH day for me. I just don't know if i'll be able to get through the rest of this week...sigh.

On to more interesting issues. Oh wait...there ARE no more interesting issues today. Wait, hold on...no thats it. I'm sure i'll have more interesting things to write about once life has sped back up to School year speeds. Until then...

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." - Winston Churchill

Summer at an end...

Well well well... My last true day of summer and this is what I choose to do with it, make a blog. Wow. But I figure it's easier then using email to keep people informed of the happenings in my world.
School starts tomorrow, or would if I had a class on monday. To think i'm actually happy to get back into this state's education system. Not that the system's done me wrong or anything, it's just that I never thought i'd hear myself say "It'll be nice to get back to school". Who knew?