The Ego Mafia is in the house...

So, I subscribe to my sister’s blog and every now and again I get an email with her new posts. The things I read there leave me disturbed and discouraged. You see, I live far away from her and she is growing up and I’m not there to help her along the way. It’s sad because I had help when I was her age, and I think I should pass along that kindness in turn. I mean, I’m here in Utah and she is back in D.C. and what difference can I really make? It seems too little too far.

Any suggestions?

Folks, I wanted to let you all know that I appreciate your friendship and support. I love it that I actually get a few blog readers out there in cyberspace. I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving, remember to be thankful for your blessings, as I know I am. Also, be nice to your families if you get to see them, because they are there to help you and they miss you.

Remember also, that even though Im super busy I miss you guys too. I would hang out with you more if I could. Just remember that. Also, for those of you who are struggling this semester (I know I am) get excited because we only have 3 weeks of school left after Thanksgiving. That alone is cause for celebration. I know Nate is celebrating.

Next semester Im going to try and update my blog not only more often, but I also intend to try to chronicle the D&D campaign that I will be running. I am super excited about that campaign, because I have all these ideas for great adventures. My only real problem right now is that I still have to decide on where I want to set my campaign. I am tempted to fall back on old habits and run a campaign in the Planes like I did for 10 years. However, I am thinking that I might want to branch out and run a campaign in a different land. I need to figure this out by next Monday so I can tell my players. They need to make their characters with this in mind. I hate being indecisive, it makes me pissed off.

Anyway, I think that’s it for this entry. Until next time, same bat time, same bat URL.

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So Kris got the quote for last week. Good job Kris. The quote is from the movie "JarHead" a really good movie about the Gulf War. Maybe I will do a movie review sometime on that one. The new quote is an easy one, because I like it when you guys can get the quote. I might put up another one after someone gets this one.

Stupid is as Stupid does...

So, on the way to school you are bound to encounter the odd pedestrian. Now, having been a pedestrian on more than one occasion I do not have anything in particular against them. However, some pedestrians give the rest of us who wear the title a bad name.

You see, the other morning as I was riding to school with Kim (she was driving) a pedestrian was walking across the street right at a turn, so they were walking diagonally across a T street. When Kim went to turn, slowing down to wait for the person, the Pedestrian gave her this Evil Eye look as if to say, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Can't you see I'm jay walking here?!!"

I love people you see, but stupid people I cannot abide. I mean, what kind of people are dumb enough to walk across a T intersection and then be pissed off at the cars that almost run them over. There was no cross walk where the person was walking, just plain old asphalt.

Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get that one out there.

I dont really have much to say right now, which is kinda sad. I mean, I have been super busy wirting a PRD paper for my Corporate Marketing class. Its really a boring subject so I wont spend much time talking about it. Let me just say, its about a game our group had to come up with and design. Its probably the longest amount of time I've ever spent to write only 3 pages. I write quite a bit in my blog, but every paragraph I write here does not require 2 or 3 hours of research. Instead, I just look up and think for a few seconds then let my fingers do the talking.

Lets talk about my TableTop RPG games right now. I am the GM (Game Master) for a Star Wars RPG Campaign. I love it and I love my players. Right now Nate, Ben, Kim, and Steph are playing. Steph is new, and I think she likes it (at least I hope she does). The game revolves around the adventures of a couple of Jedi and their friends. Right now the galaxy is at war with an army led by a group of Dark Force users called the "Dark Hand" or just "The Hand" for short. Yes, there have been a few jokes about the "Hand" being parallel to the "Foot" from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show, I didnt plan it that way, but thats how things happen sometimes and its ok.

Anyway, the "Hand" have taken over most of the outer rim and some mid-rim planets. They attacked Coruscant and failed, but it was just a diversion to open up some mid-rim planets that the Hand wanted to blockade. Their leader, Darth Ravage, is a vicious bastard who likes to play mind games with the heroes. He has a big ego but its tempered with patience and cunning. The one time they had the chance to fight him so far, he thoroughly whipped up on the party. Yeah, they werent ready for him at that point.

Our Star Wars game has only 2 sessions left before we finish it for good, and I know how I want to finish it, but I dont know if its gonna happen the way I want. We'll see though. We are switching over to play D&D next semester instead of Star Wars, so I want to end the game right; a nice climactic end to the game. Ill update this later to let you know how it goes.

The other game I play in is a D&D game that I am a PC in instead of the GM. My PC is a really fun one to play. He is a Half-Dragon/Half-Goliath named Stormrider. He has wings and stands 7 feet 11 inches tall. He wields a Huge Greatsword (almost 8 feet long; think Cloud Strife type sword) and wears Mithril Full Plate. He charges into battle without hesitation, and fights until the enemies are dead or he is dead. I love playing him.

One last thing, yesterday I got my case of Underdark Packs that I ordered. I pulled some really great rares out of there, and I got all the common and uncommon's in the set. Ive decided that Im going to buy a box every time they release a new set so that I dont have to go hunting around for the mini's that I want after the fact (which is more expensive that way too). Anyway, it was pretty exciting to get all those miniature figures of creatures that I know and love from the game.

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Ok, no one got the quote that is up. It is a quote from Kill Bill Vol. 1. Its the part when Hattori Hanzou has just finished making the Bride a sword. He swore he wouldn't make any more swords a long time ago. Yeah, its a good moment in the movie. Ill post another quote here shortly.

Insomnia, the Mother of all Insanity...

At 3:34 AM, when you have been laying in bed for over two hours unable to sleep, its strange how you're only true thoughts revolve around killing. Killing time, killing people, killing yourself...its all the same when insomnia brings along a friend (anger).

Interesting how the sweetest things in life can become the most bitter. I love to sleep. Not excessive amounts mind you, but enough to make my face look like my own in the morning and not some horror movie make-up artist's version of my face. I love to stay up late, but only of my own volition. When I am trying to sleep, that is EXACTLY what I want to happen...SLEEP!

Other random thoughts that run through your head at that time: Why does my pillow smell like my girlfriend? Who the hell decided to turn the heat up so high? My friends on the east coast are probably getting up for work soon. I bet Ill be as tired as I am awake right now in the morning, and yet I still can't sleep. I wonder if its because of the D&D game I just finished playing four hours ago. Naw, that cant be right, by all accounts I should be tired after that. I wonder if I will get all my stuff done tomorrow as I run on lowered energy levels. How the hell am I supposed to go work out tomorrow afternoon after getting so little sleep? I wonder if I'll even wake up when my alarm goes off.

Now, when my alarm finally does go off, it sounds like I am in orbit and it is sounding from my house in D.C. I however still manage to drag my psyche from some deep place and get up. Only to set my alarm for 15 minutes more and then lay back down. The dream I have during that 15 minutes involves me being late for all my meetins/classes today and not caring one bit. Ahh, sweet dreams why could you not claim me sooner?

I do however drag what feels more like my carcass than my living body out of bed to the tune of the "Its a Brand new day" song from Gantz. An utterly scary song, as anyone would know if they have seen the Anime Gantz. (An Aside: If you have not seen Gantz, and you are a Trailblazer like me, then you need to see it. It ranks in my Top 5 Anime Series of all time. I have most of the series, volume 9 doesnt come out for 10 days and Volume 10 comes out January 16th 2006, and you can borrow them from me if you like.) Scary thoughts are never the best wake up music.

As I write this, I am wide awake. This state of lucidness may or may not last. If experience is a good teacher (and generally it is) then by 3pm I will feel like I am dragging my @$$ all over the place. I could probably be a nerd at this point and plot you an exponential function of how much energy it takes, over time, to stay awake and keep active after 3 hours of sleep. It would probably look something like the x cubed fuction. Thats just sad...on so many levels.

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No one has gotten the quote yet, I dont think, but I dont have time to change it right now. So, Ill let it sit for a while and then change it when I get the chance.

Doctor or Quack? You decide...

So I made it to the doctor's office yesterday. They took me in, went through all the preliminaries (weight, hight, Blood Pressure, pulse, etc.), then the doctor came in. He listened to my lungs, looked in my nose and ears, and swabbed my throat. Then he sent me off to get the swab examined and some blood taken. The Phlabotamist (sp?) used the same vein that all of them seem to like using...my poor vein.

After a 35 minutes wait, I got my results back on both tests. I then trekked back across the Health Center results in hand; only to wait another 10 minutes (playing Bejeweled on my phone) for the Doctor to come in and say..."Your bloodwork looks normal, you dont have strep either. However, you have some type of Polyp in your nasal passeges. However, I need to send you to the Ear/Nose/Throat Specialist so he can look in there and know for sure whats going on." Riiiiiiiiiiiiigght!

I have had some type of Nasal Congestion for the past 8 months or so. However, I didnt have any type of Health Insurance until September and Ive been too busy to go till yesterday. So, the whole trip yesterday was $10 and they didnt do anything but refer me to a specialist. AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

So, this coming wednesday I have another appointment. Hopefully to get some answers this time.

Ok, new quiz this time. I like this one cause its short and sweet. Just one question. Anyway, you can try it if you like:

Your Hidden Talent

Your natural talent is interpersonal relations and dealing with people. You communicate well and are able to bring disparate groups together. Your calming presence helps everything go more smoothly. People crave your praise and complements.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

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Ok, congrats to Kirsa for getting the obscure Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail quote. You go girl!!! The new quote I'm going to make a little harder cause these last two were guessed entirely too fast!! However, it will be from one of my favorite movies. So if you know me then that should narrow it down some. Good Luck!!

Smacked with a Sickness!

So, I dont really have much to say. I've been sick lately (head cold, throat hurting, nose congestion, the whole bit) and so not much has been going on. However, I guess there are a few new things in my life that I could write about.

First, I joined a new gaming group. Its been way too long since I got to be a PC in a gaming group (as opposed to DM). Its really fun to be on the other side of the table again. Im really enjoying the game, and Im thinking about writing up a story about our adventures, Im not sure though. If you are reading this and you think it would be cool to read about my D&D group's adventures then post a comment and let me know, if I get enough good response Ill write it up and post it here.

Second, my new calling is Sunday School Teacher. I taught my first lesson on Sunday, while I was really sick. Yeah, it was not too fun to try to be loud enough while my throat was hurting like crazy. The good part was that the lesson turned out ok because everyone participated and helped me read the parts that needed to be read out loud. So, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be.

Third, I've been reading Nate's blog (see the link to the right to read NateTheGreat's blog) and he posted a cool X-Men quiz and here you can see how I scored:

You scored as Beast.

Beast is an intelligent, politcal spokesman for the X-Men. He has a Ph.D in Genetics and is well versed in literature. He may look like a blue fuzzy monster, but deep down he's very benevolent and logical. Powers: Enhanced strength and agility

Iceman		75%
Beast		75%
Nightcrawler		70%
Cyclops		65%
Wolverine		55%
Jean Grey		55%
Colossus		45%
Emma Frost		45%
Rogue		35%
Storm		25%
Gambit		10%

Also, Nate posted a Food Quiz, here are my results:

You Are Chinese Food

Exotic yet ordinary. People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour.

What Kind of Food Are You?

School was really crazy last week, but this week things are looking up. I do have a Final Exam tomorrow for my block class, but that shouldn't be too bad. I think the worst part of it will be the fact that its actually in the Testing Center. I was disappointed because none of my other teachers have their tests in the Testing Center. I was hopeing I would never have to go back to that cursed Hall of Stress ever again. Oh well, never say never.

I think thats about it.

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Brad was the winner of last week's Quote Contest. He guessed the quote was from "Serenity" and ideed it was. Some other people got it too, but Brad posted first. Good job man! I've posted another quote for you guys to puzzle over. This one is from a Comedy, thats the only hint I'll give you.

A Phrase worth a Thousand Laughs

In the MBA program, we have something called Learning Teams. These consist of 4 to 5 MBA students thrown together more or less randomly and expected to help each other work on group projects and generally succeed. I am part of Learning Team 8 (they are numbered, for your convenience).

My group consists of Robert, Ron, Terry, and I. Rob is your typical white guy from Utah. He is my favorite group member because his attitude about things mirrors my own. This attitude usually involves us lamenting the fact that we are stuck in such a rigorous program with a group that is all but effective. Ron is another typical white guy from Middle America. He is ok; however he has some traits that leave me wanting to inflict bodily harm on him. Terry is a Chinese girl from Nanjing, China. She is probably really smart, intelligent, and interesting; however, I cannot understand a SINGLE word that comes out of her mouth. Interestingly enough, this problem seems to be getting worse, not better. It seems that I can understand her even less as the semester goes on. Now that’s just terrible.

The reason for my current digression on my group is so you know a little bit about the people I spend my 8am to 5pm hours with. Rob is basically the only reason that this group has been bearable. He is just an all round smart and good guy, and he has his moments where he is hilarious too. I will share one such moment with you now.

My group had to finish a group paper for our communications class this afternoon. So, we went in search of a room to study in. The Tanner Building was all full everywhere we went so we headed over to the Library. On our way there Rob saw a girl that he thought was, and I quote, “FREEKIN AMAZINGLY HOT!” I laughed and continued on my way through the library atrium toward the Wilk because I needed a fork from the Cougar Eat to eat my lunch. Rob followed me because his dream girl was heading that way too. She didn’t go into the Wilk but she went right by it so he was able to look his fill, and let me tell you for the next 10 minutes he was just useless. I was trying to talk to him and he was like, “Sorry, but I can’t seem to focus right now, all I can see is her... [Here he starts staring off into space again].” This was funny in and of itself but then he said something I will be laughing about for some time.

Rob was babbling on about that girl being the hottest girl he has seen at BYU yet and then he just blurts out, “That’s the kind of thing that ruins a marriage!” I just about busted a gut laughing so hard. I just didn’t know what to think of that comment, but it was funny!

Anyway, that’s my update for now, sorry so little but between the mid term today, group project due tomorrow, and the 15 page group paper due Thursday I’m going to be very busy for some time.

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So, no one got the quote from last week, which is ok because it was from a rated “R” movie called “Sin City.” Its easily one of my favorite movies though. It was one of the first movies filmed entirely in front of a Green screen; gotta love technology.

Anyway, there’s a new quote up for all you Party People. However, I may do more than one quote this week since I think you will get this one really fast. We’ll see.

The Evil's of Monday...

This past Monday was terrible. I dont just say that, because Mondays are usually crappy, but I say that because this one was especially terrible.

I got out of bed, late. So I rushed to get ready and skipped breakfast.

Strike one.

Then I walked outside to go to school and the little plastic clip that holds the two parts of my backpack's strap together broke suddenly and I dropped my backpack. I hate when I drop my backpack. My backpack usually has my laptop in it, my MP3 player, my earbud headphones, my books, my lunch, and my other supplies in it. Any of these can be damaged by a 4 foot drop.

Strike two.

Then I got to school and realized that I was totally overwhelmed by this week (2 midterms, 2 projects) and I didnt get enough sleep to be able to work effectively that day (admittedly my fault). This was pretty bad because up to that point I thought I had things under control, but these things just showed me that control is an illusion. One to which we cling oh-so-tenuously. Maybe that is why we need to have faith, because we dont control nearly as much as we think we do in our lives.

Strike three.

Ive finally really gotten things geared up to finish reading the Book of Mormon by the end of the year just like the Prophet said. Maybe this is why things seem to be coming crashing down right before my eyes. Maybe, some force is trying to draw my tension away from whats important. I firmly believe in the quote that: "Things usually get worse, before they get better." I've always believed that its ok that this is true. Those times where things are terrible, and you cant seem to find your way, these are the times where you grow. You come away from those times a stronger person; you can look back and understand that, when life gets rough, you get rough with life. Im just glad for good friends, great truths, and love. These are the three things that have kept me going so far, and they will sustain me till the CK*. I love life, and I would never give up on it. I hope all of you reading this can feel that, and understand that I am grateful for every day that I have.

(*CK = Celestial Kingdom)

Besides, Nate says that everybody seems to be feeling bad lately, and misery loves company right? Maybe its the weather...

Thank you for reading. Please leave comments if you feel what Im saying here.

A Statement on the Society we live in...

So, Nate (see him under my Blog Friends section at the right) and I were talking the other day and we had an interesting chat. It turns out, one of our mutual friends is dating a new girl. That is how the coversation started, and it followed something like this:

Me: So, thats good for him right?
Nate: I guess...
Me: You guess?!
Nate: Well, he has had some trouble with that sort of thing in the past.
Me: What, you mean with women?
Nate: Yeah, he was dating this other girl for a while but that didnt work out, and he was chasing after a different girl but I dont think she knew about it. Also, all that girl liked to do was play with him. She didnt like him or anything.
Me: [I just looked at Nate, without saying anything]
Nate: By "play" with him, I mean play video games.
Me: Oh, I know what you meant, however just the fact that you had to qualify that statement is a sharp commentary on the society we live in.

This leads me to my current topic. Women can be evil. (NOTE: I am not saying women ARE evil; instead, I am saying that they CAN be evil. For that matter, MEN can be evil too, but women are the present topic so Ill stick with them for now). Especially to men. Unfortunately, some few women who ARE categorically evil have ruined it for the rest of the good women out there. Because of the ruination of a few, the whole gender has to fall under the type of qualification statement that Nate used to qualify the word "play" in the above conversation.

Now, being one who knows a little bit about discrimination, I think this is terrible. However, there isn't much that I can do to help the women of our society in this respect. I cant go out and slay all the "Evil Dragon" women out there, nor can I protect all the "nice guys" out there from being hurt (and believe me our mutual friend is a "nice guy" whether he knows it or not).

What I can do, is put out a call to all the good women out there. Good Women, and if you are good you know who you are, please be nice to your male friends and do your best to protect them from those bad women out there. Now remember, usually your male friends will be attracted to these bad women, so you are not going to be able to reason with them when it comes to keeping these guys from getting hurt. So, if I may suggest, mild violence can usually penetrate the haze of hormones and counterproductive influences that are running around in the average male system. Anything from a hard punch or slap (take your pick of location, but avoid the groin) to a good kick in the shin (I've played soccer for 20 years now, and it still hurts). If you are a petite female and dont think you can generate enough force to do even mild damage (and if you are petite, thats arlight, I got luv for you too) then I will refer you to three useful friends that all women have: The purse (bludgeoning weapon, hurts), The Key (piercing weapon, get him in the soft gut area, really hurts), and The Fingernail (slashing weapon, a scratch goes a long way). Give em hell girls!

Now, for you guys reading this, I have a few suggestions to avoid all the Good Women I've just armed. DONT BE STUPID! Now, let me define STUPID. Stupid = letting bad women (you know the ones Im talking about) walk all over you. Dont take their mind games, dont listen to their lies, and especially dont buy them things they wont appreciate. Instead, buy the important women in your life good gifts (flowers and food come to mind). Because I truly believe that every good guy needs a good women backing him up as a counselor. This women doesnt have to be your significant other (although when you find that your significant other becomes your counselor its time to get married), but she does need to have your trust.

So, theres my statement. I hope you all enjoyed it. Oh, and if you are going to flame me about this blog entry, please email me personally and dont put it in the comments. I like to keep my comments positive.


MOVIE QUOTE: This weeks quote was from Finding Forrestor, no one got it so I have changed it. Last weeks winner was Nate Irvin. He guessed the quote: "This is your life, ending one second at a time" from Fight Club (in his defense he has never seen the movie but has alot of quotes from it on his PC, for all you MoMo's out there). Good Luck on this week's quote!

Movie Review: Crash

Crash follows the lives of many disparate people from various racial backgrounds as their lives collide with one another in many different ways. One of the Main characters, a Detective played by Don Cheadle, starts the movie off with the quote, "It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."

From that point on the movie follows these people from crash to crash as they intersect with one another. The main theme of the movie is "Race and Race based interaction." The people play their respective roles as non-stereotypical individuals of each race. The high society white couple. The gang banger black guys. The "Homey" Latin man. The thick accented asian. All these "Stereotypes" are represented by atypical members of each group.

These different people "crash" into one another in a most spectacular way that makes for a fantastic movie. The plot delves into the minds of people who break the traditional molds and show us L.A. from a totally different perspective.

The cinematography made the movie poignant while the acting drew one into the movie and into places people try to forget. No longer was I in Provo, UT, instead I was walking down the street in D.C. at night as a white couple moved further over on the sidewalk to avoid the "dangerous looking" Half-black man. I was also standing there as the upper-middle class "white" guy shows fatherly love to a half-black kid who had no father.

These are the places this movie takes you...and beyond. It takes you into your past, and helps you relive the good and the bad, and reflect on how to do better in your own life. Everyone, especially if you are from Utah, should see this movie. Crash really does show what the tagline says, "Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other."

The Lycanthropy that is Tests!

Its amazing how Mid-terms (or Finals, or Standardized Tests of any kind really) can turn otherwise normal people into stark raving lunatics! Mid-terms are just barely starting (our first one is on Thursday) yet already my classmates are beginning to act like its the full moon and their "other half" is a "Psychotic and Deranged Type-A Personality Berserker."

You would think these MBA students would know how to handle stress, or at least to hide the fact that they are stressed out, but no, that is not the case at all. Oh, they think they hide it well, dont get me wrong there; but they are wrong. If you know where to look, and how to look, you can find the telltale signs of their Berserker tendencies coming out. For example, for the past couple of weeks the teams (yes we have teams here in the MBA program) have been working well together and everything has seemed fine. Now, however, the teams are more heated in their "discussions," almost to the point of them coming to blows!

I have seen this mostly in my own team, and in my friends' teammates. When I am discussing something with my teammates and they dont like what Im saying, I can see their eyes start to turn red and their face shadows over. I can just imagine them turning into some Mr. Hyde/The Hulk hybrid and bodily picking me up by the throat while yelling, "YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY, YOU PUNY SCRAWNY MAN!!" Ahh, the wonders of dealing with other peoples' stress patterns.

On a related topic, I still havnt been getting much sleep. This is mostly my own fault because Im still operating under the mistaken assumption that I can do this MBA thing and still have a normal "outside the MBA" life as well. Im starting to believe that I am wrong; oh so wrong indeed. It is turning out that the MBA has been sucking away every moment of my day. I get up and am in class by 8am. I work all day to get my stuff done, homework, assignments, papers, etc., and then I come home, take a half hour break or so and then get back to work trying to finish the rest of the assignments for the day. Most days I get most of the work done, but its a rare and wonderful day when I actually get everything done.

Now, by the time I finish all my stuff, its invariably about 10 pm (or thats about the time I quit for the day, done or not). Then, if I were operating under a different set of assumptions, I would read my scriptures, shower and go to bed. Instead, I decide that I can spend a few hours doing the things I like to do (like I always do when I get home from work for the day). This basically means that I play till about 1 am, knowing full well that I have to get up at 7 am. This is very bad for me, but I havnt been able to kick the habit.

The reason why I say its bad is because I wake up tired, spend most of my day feeling tired and run down, and then I get home do it all over again. Its a vicious cycle I tell you!!!

Oh well, these Mid-terms will probably kick me from this habit right quick. Talk about being scared straight! Well, "Whatever works" right?!

Wish me luck people!

So, I applied to be a Porn Star but they told me I needed to lose some weight...

So yeah, Im currently looking for an internship for this summer. For those of you reading this that dont know me too well, I am a first year MBA Student at BYU. Now, the school career center keeps on sending out these mass emails to try to get us (the MBA students) to remember that the MOST important thing we can do is get an internship, because if you get one it just about guarantees that you will find a job after graduation.

Now, here is where the paradox starts. You see, the MBA program wants us to get internships (and we are pretty much left to ourselves as to where to apply and how to go about getting one), and yet this first semester we have more homework than any one person could possibly get done in a 60 hour week. As living proof of this, I have not had 1 week yet where I actually got everything done, so each week I actually get further and further behind on my HW. Its like a snowball thats rolling down the mountain. Im trying to melt it with a flamethrower at the same time, but its just getting bigger and bigger despite all my efforts. It sucks!

So, the Career center has given all of us first year students something called a "Sherpa." Its basically a second year student who acts as a guide for us, really though its just some dude who signed up for this position cause it would look like good service on his resume. Now, self interest doesnt bother me much, however if this guy is gonna do this he could at least be of some USE!! Its sad really, because all he has done is give me a list of crap that I have to get done in my free time! FREE TIME?! What free time?!

Honestly, I barely have enough time to sneeze and wipe my nose; thats how busy I am. So, Im griping I konw, but I just cant get over how much work they give us and then how much extra time they expect us to spend doing extra stuff. Its terrible, and I dont know how Im possibly going to get everything done...oh well.

I made a solemn promise to myself that I would NOT stress out this semester no matter HOW bad it got. I have held to my promise up till now (its been a month of school 1/4 the way done with the first semester, hell yeah!) and Im committed to staying strong about it. Wish me luck!

Oops!

Thats me!!

To Quote Snoop Dogg, "This Kinda $#!Z Happens all the time..."

OK, as promised, I am actually posting here. Im not sure who is going to read this, but frankly if it gives me an outlet to say all the stupid crap that comes into my head then I dont really care either.

That said, lets start by talking about music. For all of you audiophiles out there, I recently got an iRiver H10 20 GB MP3 Player for my birthday. Its great, its absolutely awesome, it does everything I want it to do. Its even aesthetically beautiful, its like something out of Plato's world of Forms. It is THE MP3 Player; iPod, eat your heart out!

Now, since I need to use this new toy, Ive recently rediscovered downloading music. Man I love the internet. I have acquired the new "Massacre" album by 50 Cent. Talk about redefining your music. "50" takes his rap to a whole new level of awesomeness with the phat beats and melodies that made us love him. He has gathered enough prestige in the industry to have other artists come and "guest star" on almost every track on the Album.

I think my favorite song from the album is "Gatman and Robbin" which features Eminem. Its like the old theme of batman meets new 21st century rap. Its got a hard edge to the classic theme with undertones of club dance beats. For those of you who arent into cussing though, I would suggest downloading the Clean version, its worth it.

My next new band is Fall Out Boy, particularly their song, "Sugar, we're going down swinging". This song, by its lyrics and energy, has struck a cord deep down in my soul. Everytime I hear it I feel like I can just go out and fight my way to the top of whatever I am involved in. The song is basically about the loss of much loved girlfriend, and how you gotta fight all the way to the end no matter what. My favorite part is the Chrous though, because its all about getting beat, but fighting all the way down, here it is for your reading pleasure:

"We're going down, down in an earlier round,
And Sugar, we're going down swinging
I'll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded Gun complex, cock it and pull it"

Again, whenever I hear this I feel inspired to keep fighting back and whatever struggles are plaguing my life. I love it.

My next new media thing is Firefly, the TV Show by Joss Whedon. I loved Buffy and Angel, but this is a totally different genre so I wasnt so sure. However, I have been pleasently surprised by this show. Its great, funny, and fun.

As an interesting aside, I was searching online for the theme song to FireFly (even though it sucks, I was just curious to see if the song had more parts that were Non-suck and they just used the sucky part for the opening credits, but alas I found out that the opening credits suckiness is basically the entire song) and I found a song by the band "Breaking Benjamin" called "FireFly" and I decided to check it out. Man, can you say good decision? Oh yeah, the song is freekin awesome! It rocks like old school alternative used to back in the early to mid nineties, before things went south. Im kinda proud of Breaking Benjamin for helping to restore my faith in new Alternative Rock. So go download their song FireFly and "So Cold". If the opening theme to the FireFly series was this Breaking Benjamin song, well, the opening would have been just awsome. It prolly would still have gotten canceled, but at least I could then tolerate watching the opening credits.

I think the best line from the FireFly song (the Breaking Benjamin one is):

"Take my hand, We'll be off and then
We'll come back again, To a different land
Now I like this way, You can go away
If you guess the name, you cannot replace"

Ahh, the power of the new Blog...Im liking this one much better than my old one. The layout is great. Ill catch you on the next one...

All Set Up!!

Ok, I just set up this Blog. Im going to do my best to keep it updated (yeah, I say that about all my pet projects, but this time I mean it!!!).

Ill post more later!