Would you look at that.

The month of August wasn't so bad. Despite the financial destitute, I managed to get things done. With good friends, anything can be uplifted.

So my brother, Jason, recently bought a house in Corona. As I previously blogged before a few months back, this purchase will change much in the current house. As of right now, I have no idea what is going to happen. But overall, I do not want to relocate.

If we do, I will have to kill someone.

Love is a many splendored thing.

"You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well." -Lewis B. Smedes














A rather simple thought, but it has somehow managed to escape my mind.
I have a few things I need to take care of before school sneaks up on me:

1. Pay off my debt.
2. Keep up with Wells Fargo.
3. Get 5 people birthday gifts.
4. Start recording, finally.
   

What are you thinking of, love.

Everyone just stopped blogging for some reason.

I hope you don't mind.

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no.
Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show.
I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do.
My gift is my song and this one's for you.

And you can tell everybody this is your song.
It may be quite simple but now that it's done.
I hope you don't mind.
I hope you don't mind that I put down in words.
How wonderful life is while you're in the world.

-Elton John, Bernie Taupin

I used to play this song a lot. The last time was about two years ago. It was at a nursing home. My mother and I came to visit. There was a grand piano that was always there, laying dormant, in the dining room. I sat down that day in front of the piano, and played. Some senior citizens recognized the song, some were just daydreaming. I played it for them. Amongst all those seniors, my father was one of them. That was the last song he heard me play on the piano.

I haven't played this song in awhile.

Checkerboard!

That word got me 100 dollars today. A 100 dollar gift card for Vans to be exact. Who knew I would be one of those lucky customers that would get a prize just for walking into the store? Well, I did, and so did Brian Rocke, haha.

I get a text from Brian today telling me about this giveaway for Vans. Apparently they were doing this Twitter thing where they would announce at 2 o'clock that the first customers to walk in to any Vans store saying "Checkerboard" will receive a 100 dollar gift card. Brian was working at the Vans near our house, so he entrusted me with this mission. So, with everything planned out, I walked into the store around 2:05, making eye contact with Brian. He smiled, then I quickly looked away, knowing not to make it obvious that we are friends. I walked to the cashiers and said "....Checkboard?" Both cashiers looked at me and said "whoa, I didn't expect it to be this fast, I guess a lot of people do use Twitter." Haha, I felt like I cheated the system, with me not even having a Twitter account. But hey, it worked and they even ended up taking a picture of me holding the card and pair of shoes, haha.

Thanks Mr. Rocke, I think we both deserve a pair of new shoes for this joint-venture. Gyup!

Gonna cost a rot of money.

This past weekend was near perfect.
Covered with inside jokes and mileage, the memories were priceless. There was a good amount of laughter from the racism and mockery provided, which is pretty much the foundation of Courtney's and Lawrence's friendship, haha. At one point, I was overwhelmingly happy. Happy to see that I was on a trip that was needed for almost a year now, and to have two great friends along for the ride. I wasn't quite sure if Lawrence and Courtney would feel comfortable on this trip at first, given the fact that they never really had a chance to hang out a lot prior. If anything, it was quite the contrary. They were just find and, considering how much they made fun of each other, it made me feel at ease.

Kaileen and her family were wonderful. Their house, their cooking, their hobbies, and their interests in our lives made us feel very welcomed. I remembered coming out of the shower hearing a distinct voice playing in their living room stereo. Quickly identifying that it was Bob Dylan, it put a smile on my face, giving me some sort of connection with the family without even meeting them yet. The father is a writer, painter, and a photographer, the mother plays the guitar, the two daughters play piano while the youngest son paints. What an artistic family they are, very inspiring and yet very humble.
From the hills of Pacifica to LoveJoy to Dolores Park to the Pacific Coast, Saturday was one beautiful day. Rather doing touristy customs such as sightseeing, we were able to experience the everyday local stops, which was in my opinion, much more facsinating than huge landmarks. With catchphrase, animal crackers, poker, and a guitar by our side; our already strong friendships grew stronger, I'd think.




We decided to take Highway 1 back home with two reasons, Big Sur and a much more scenic drive. And it was a scenic drive indeed. Although it cause us nearly 4 more hours to get home, it was well worth it. Watching how diverse the surroundings were made us realize how great of a state California really is. Especially when you have Eisley, Michael Jackson, Kings of Leon and the rest of the music industry in your car to enjoy it with you.

Gonna cost a rot of money.
Powerade and District 9.
Decking you in the face.
Rosa Park and Lance Armstrong.
Pheiffer State Park and Julia Pheiffer Burns State Park.
Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo.
Good times, and good friends.

A thousand splendid suns.

Pictures come first.

With flowers in your hair.

Lawrence came over today and we played music. We recorded, and I sang this time around. Maybe you will see it someday, cause I am contemplating of uploading it still.

In the meantime, I am going to San Francisco in less than 12 hours. With Big Sur after that, it is going to be an eventful weekend. I am quite excited.

For once in my life,

it's going to feel real good.

I have spent the past weekend at work. I saw my coworkers more than my mother, more than my friends. It was quite a change in my routine, and it couldn't have happened at a better time. I needed to recuperate, mentally of course. Although I was in a working environment, my mind was at ease. It allowed me to think things clearly, allowing me to think it through. Having conversations with some co-workers got me thinking of what direction I am heading, if I even have a direction, that is. And my mind also wondered to the subject of my friends. I don't know what is wrong, but I have this eerie feeling that is growing slowly. I have been noticing some negative attributes amongst my friends, and it makes me wonder if I myself have these qualities as well. Whatever it is, I feel much better now thinking about it. Having a full weekend of socially excluding myself from my personal life helped.

It was Sonic's birthday yesterday, and I wonder how he is doing now.
It was my father's birthday last week, and I was able to go through that day just fine. Good for me.

San Francisco this weekend. The Hippie capitol, the city of love.

For once in my life, I feel much older than I am.

Good to have you home.

These past three days have been comforting. Nearly every hour I was accompanied by good people. Thanks to them, my mind has been busy and occupied away from useless thoughts. Lawrence is home now, for about three weeks; and I will make sure those weeks won't go to waste.

Lets talk about the Vegas trip now. It's been almost a week and I have still yet to blog about it, which is quite unusual for me. Lets just say that was one of the quickest weekends that I had ever experienced. From the frequent fluctuating emotions to the irresponsible intoxications, I enjoyed every minute of it nonetheless. The whole process of getting to Vegas was a separate journey in itself. From the moment where I was appointed to be one of the chauffeurs of the trip, I knew my car was going to take a beating. And a beating it was. My poor little baby overheated about 3 times, resulting with us having to turn on the heater for the remainder of the drive. However, that made the whole weekend in Sin City even more worthwhile. It was good to be out in a city where everyone is free from their everyday life, even if it is just for a little while. Lots of drunken stories were created that weekend, and they will remain secret amongst the guys only, haha.








HAHAHAHA!











-Going down the elevator with two other strangers-
"act straight, act straight!"
"who the fuck pushed all those buttons??"
"god damn it glenn!"

We will never fold.

This summer is turning out a lot different than I had previously anticipated. I think I need to meet some new faces and start over from scratch.

I have decided to force myself into this road trip with Lawrence and Courtney, no matter what it takes. I would love for it to happen. Also, I would like to go hiking somewhere new and unexplored, and I am cordially inviting you to come along.

I spoke too soon.

Last month, I posted a blog about my credit score.

"My credit score is 726.... I intend to maintain a high credit score for the rest of my young adult life...What have I done? What did I get myself into?"

Well, at least I knew what I was doing, so there's really no one to blame. I came home to realizing how much was spent in the month of July. I managed to exceed my credit card limit. I managed to lose my responsibilities on these things. I managed to bring my credit score down. Glenn, your birthday was a lot more expensive than I had anticipated. I'm glad you had a good time though, cause I did.

Lawrence, you come home tonight. I am quite excited to see you.