Goodbye 2011 and Welcome in 2012!

Every year, I start off the New Years Eve blog the same. I always explain that since 2006 I write a new blog recapping the year. Usually before I start writing the new blog, I read the past New Years Eve blogs. It gets me in the mood to write and gives me ideas on how I'm going to structure the new one. It gives me an opportunity to look for changes through the years and reflect how this one is different.


A year ago today, it started off at Joe and Randi's New Years party at their apartment. Kevin and Jeff were back in town for the holiday. All my best friends, except RJ were all under one roof celebrating the new year. I was happy and felt strangely at peace. I then drank the most I have ever drank in my life. I had gulped down Jell-O shots made in a 20 mL syringe like it was no one's business. The rest of the night quickly became a blur of random drunken conversations. I vaguely remember a conversation about politics and healthcare reform while I stumbled about the room. I consumed large amounts of bean dip and before I knew it, I was passed out on a chair. I don't remember much else except for throwing up a lot. I now get sick to my stomach when I even look at Jell-O

January of 2011 started off sad. Kyle's father passed away that month. I felt guilty for having not been there for Kyle up to the days his father wasn't doing so well. I only knew the man by association but he was a good man whom I had always admired. I attended the funeral with much sadness in my heart. Earlier that same month, my friend Jeff's father passed away as well. I never knew him but it hurt me to know how much Jeff was hurting. Later that month, My aunt had a series of debilitating strokes that rocked my Mom's side of the family. School was a struggle with so much going on at once. January was also an intense month of burn-out at work as well.

February was no better. My aunt eventually passed away after a long stay in an ICU. I was unable to attend the funeral. I started to get serious about my education and decided to switch to day shift, hoping it would enhance my quality of life and school performance. I didn't start on day shift for a couple of months after. I dabbled in other fields of work. I thought maybe law enforcement is a way I would want to go, figuring I might be too ignorant for medicine. I eventually shied away from that aspect realizing it was a just a fast way out for my current burn-out.

March wasn't stellar either. I had to stop going to work realizing a fault at the government level screwed over my EMT certification. Long story. I spent all of March not at work. Instead I was doing CME's every day. On the bright side, it gave me some time to adjust to the day schedule. I was supposed to start day shift in March. Now that I had no where to go, I had time to adjust from night shift schedule to a regular person's schedule. I feared for my job. I thought for sure, I would be fired. Eventually, things worked out after 2 weeks of waiting for my papers and tests to go through. I also dabbled in thinking I should go to paramedic school, which I eventually turned away from realizing I would not be happy going this route either. I eventually went back to work by the end of the month doing morning shifts.

April was largely uneventful but good. My dad had a couple of ER visits which was starting to get scary. Working days was a good change. My mood stabilized and I was happier. I was still burned out at work, and needed a vacation badly. I was starting to pull myself together.

May was an eventful month. I had a resolution to be more of an outdoors type person to help keep me in shape. I bought a mountain bike and that rocked. Though I didn't get to ride it as often as I had hoped. I was trying to find more ways to get out and about. The weather constantly put wrenches in my plan. Memorial Weekend came and went, which was fun but it ended up being really cold and snowy.

June also turned out well. Brennon got me back into fishing after a failed trip to Utah Lake. I got heavily invested in it. I stopped picking up extra shifts by this point, which did a lot of good towards maintaining my sanity. Summer started and I felt happy again. I was happy to see the sun and bask in it. I was happy to be outdoors and have a normal sleep schedule.

July was relatively uneventful, but fun. It was full or more fishing trips and enjoying the outdoors with all of my friends. I was happy travelling to new lakes and parts of Utah I had never known about. I felt great but still burned out at work.

In August, I went fishing some more, and hung out with Kevin, while he was in town. His presence was oddly inspiring for me to finish school. I went back to school with a new found love for learning and getting school work done.

September was very much the same. Squeezing in fishing and for the first time, REALLY cracking down in school. I formed study habits and an ethic worthy of school.

October was a busy month. My dad's health had dropped in quality. I had a lot of yard work to do while balancing out school and work. Mid-Terms came and went with success. I was starting to really get a hold of getting better at school.

November was mostly busy with school and working. Fishing became a nice way of releasing stress but my trips had declined due to the weather. Thanksgiving was good. After the holiday things would dip down into a stressful time.

December was a crazy stressful and busy month. I had to prepare for finals while having to take care of projects for work. My dad ended up being admitted to the hospital for renal failure during finals week, which sent my stress levels through the roof. Then I worked nearly 2 weeks straight so I could have money for the holidays. The last week of December was nice with all my friends in town visiting for the holidays. It has felt like old times again.


Despite it's rough beginnings, 2011 was a time for confidence building. Switching to day shift has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I credit that for many of the positive changes that have occurred this year. It may seem like it was an uneventful year, but that is a good thing. It wasn't this awful stress ridden year that I hated. I look back on this year in fondness for the change, adventure and the best success I've ever had in school. It brought me closer to my family and friends and everyone who I love. The trials weren't devastating (though very unpleasant) but helpful in some ways. It has been an inspiring year that has shown me what I want in life and who I want to be apart of it. I feel like a better and stronger person this year. I only hope that I can carry out this generally positive attitude to this new year.

2012 is supposed to be when the world ends. I don't believe in that crap. I think 2012 will be the beginning of a path in my life that leads to good times, new hopes and new adventures. It certainly won't be without it's hard times, but I feel like whatever comes at me, won't feel so hard anymore.

Now, on to Joe and Randi's annual New Year's Party that I will blog about one year from now.

Happy New Years!

Taking a Break

Currently, I'm taking a break from writing a terrible final paper. I just had to write something different than contrasting the ideas of two different philosophers. Barf.

So instead, I will tell you about my terrible eating habits. Since about my birthday last month, I have been eating terrible shit. The stress of the holidays and finals have caught up with me. I always eat like shit during finals. In fact, today I had breakfast from McDonald's, 2 donuts from 7-Eleven (working on my third and have a danish as a back up for later on), and 2 cups of coffee. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "Gee golly whiz, Johnny! How is that you can eat so much terrible food but still find time to do homework and write a blog without having shit your pants repeatedly?" My thoughts exactly. My superhero-esque colon has the super power of food and fecal retention despite the presence of McDonalds lurking somewhere in my digestive system.

Don't be jealous.

I'm not sure what the back story is to my super-colon but I'm sure it has something to do with being exposed to radiation during my seemingly uneventful birth. Though, I'm admittedly disappointed that my probable radiation exposure didn't do something better for me, like give me super intelligent powers or help me grow an unnecessary limb in an illogical part of my body.

Oh well, I'll take it. My super-colon and I will be taking this show on the road soon. Feed me whatever you want. Beto's. Taco Bell. Applebee's. You name it. My pants will be 100% clean 24 hours post-ingestion of these known laxatives.


Yes, I know. Poop jokes.......... I really am running out of good material to write about.

Time to Rally! Civil War Style!

I'm trying to motivate myself to give a shit and study. The more demotivated I become, the harder it is for me to rally.

Stupid finals.

I feel like I should be taking a new perspective on this. Maybe I should be feeling like a Civil War general losing a tough battle. In a moment of stubbornness, I get off my horse, draw my sword and point towards the enemy lines. This is where I'll take my last stand. I call out the order to "charge." It's my last attempt to rally a lost battle. Maybe the surprise itself will be enough to win it.

I run out ahead of my regiment of soldiers from different backgrounds to lead the way. Some of my soldiers are from my dignity. A large portion are from my will to persevere. Others come from minority groups like my integrity and intelligence. Nonetheless, they are all committed to come together to win. One last stance to make it worth it........

Even if we lose.



Civil War analogies...... Am I so bankrupt of good ideas that I must now borrow from depressing parts of history?

Things Women Lie About

Both genders are bad about lying about something in a stereotypical kind of way. I have compiled a VERY general list of things that women tend to lie about. It's not meant to be malicious, just kind of funny.

5. "The Guy I Meet Would Ideally Have a Great Sense of Humor. That's Very Important to Me, a Guy That Can Make Me Laugh."

This line does give credit to women for not being obscenely shallow, but it's simply just not so. A guy having sense of humor is actually quite low on the list of qualities for prospective male dates. There are a lot of guys out there who are just not capable of humor that wouldn't be able to appeal to any female brain or an autistic man-child. Women seem to find the most un-funny douchebags with the lamest sense of humor ever. At first his awkward jokes are "cute," or "kind of funny." But the novelty wears off when bad jokes get repeated and attempts at witty banter end with uncomfortable silence. I know I'm not a comedian, but I know I'm not entirely impotent (yes, "impotent" is the term I meant to use and I'm sticking to it) in the humor/wit department. If having a sense of humor was so important as quoted by half of my dates, I would have been rolling in the ladies in high school. But it turns out, humor isn't as important as women make it seem. Humor somehow takes a backseat to other inferior qualities such as "dresses nice" or "has a big dong," or "doesn't live in the basement of his deceased mother's house." Pfffffff. Women. Picky, picky!

4. "I Want a Man, Not a Boy!"

This is an admirable goal. Who wants to date a 34 year old guy who plays beer pong with frat guys and wears the latest fashions of the days youth? Nobody except for female douchebags (I don't know the term for female douchebag. The best I can guess is douchebagette.). But the term "man" is as ambiguous as the quest for a man with a "good sense of humor." Some women see the ideal man as the tall muscular fireman, police officer or maybe even a lumberjack. The type of men who are gentle enough to save a kitten but also trample it if it threatens their kids. Others see being a man as being sophisticated and refined. The type of man who is intelligent, takes no joy in dirty jokes and is the ultimate gentleman; the kind that are only seen in bad chick-flick movies, the deep backward south and the UK. Problem is, studies show that women consistently tend to marry the man who has more effeminate characteristics such as enjoying cooking, cleaning, emotionally open and so forth. Some women will argue that "real" men cook, clean and blah blah blah. Nothing wrong with a man like that. However, women are terrible at defining what a man is and often change the definition according to the most recent chick-flick they recently saw or change it when they realize the manly man is a douche, the effeminate dude is too effing annoying and the guy in the middle is too average. You don't want a man or a boy, you want a woman.

3. "Girls Don't Fart or Poop."

This is an obvious lie and I hate it more than I hate flavored coffees. Of course women do. Why would you even think it's cute or funny denying it? I've worked in a hospital for years. I've taken many classes regarding the human anatomy. My experiences and academic knowledge tells me with 100% certainty that yes, girls do indeed fart and poop. I hate it even more when women say, "Oh I do, but it's not as bad as a mans." Yes it can be and sometimes its worse. Bleh. Ladies, you fart and poop and it stinks. Accept it. 

2. "I Like You."


I don't mean "I like you" in the sense of having a crush. I mean "I like you" as in "I like being around you and enjoy your company." Women lie about this all the time directly to the faces of people they despise the most. My question is, why? Why would you do something so contradictory? I have seen this so many times of women of all ages. I would even go so far as to say I see it more than 10 times a week. Not even joking. It happens almost like clockwork every time. A woman or a group of women will be talking more shit than a group of teenage goth girls; then the subject of their bashing will walk by or enter their conversation. The conversation suddenly turns to praise towards the subject.
"Oh hey! How are you? Cute hair! Did you buy that house? Those pants look great! Where did you get them?"
I've heard defenses such as "it's irony" or "tongue-in-cheek sarcasm." My personal favorite is, "I don't want to cause any problems by being mean." Well, let's just say it is just irony and sarcasm but brilliantly acted to seem like a compliment. Let's just say the subject doesn't pick up your use of irony and sarcasm. Does that make it any less mean? Furthermore, if you don't want to be mean or seem mean, it would really help your cause by not talking crap on them in the first place and just keep it to yourself. Eventually, that type of stuff gets out and it sucks. At least have the decency to say to them "You're a bitch and I hate you. The end." Then there would be none of that ironic crap. Just out-in-the-open truth and awesomeness for all to enjoy.


1. "I'm Fine."

Yes, that is the #1 thing women lie about. No, you're not fine! That mad or sad look on your face says otherwise. You're folded arms and silence says quite differently. Then when asked again, "Are you sure you're ok?" This is usually followed by a response that ups the ante "I'm great!"
Blah! No! You're not! How much more of this prodding will it take to get to the core of this? Guys will always assume they are somehow the chief cause of your obvious misery. It will drive them mad until they figure it out. It's [not] a scientific fact!



The moral of this blog is that women are cryptic puzzles that make the Mayans, the Egyptians, and the Bible all look like an easy to solve children's puzzle. Women speak in code where their sentence is not what it really means. Women could actually be the modern day Wind-Talkers of this war. They can talk their cryptic code over the airwaves in enemy territory with complete impunity. No Arab man would be able to decipher it. Arab women wouldn't be allowed to try to translate because of cultural barriers and their relative  oppression in such matters. It would be full-proof in backward undeveloped nations.

Actually, the real moral of this blog is that it's all a joke. It's all meant to be humorous and is not meant to have any sort of sexist undertones.



Just for the record.









[Don't sue me. I'm poor.]

My Musings for the Day

I have to admit, the Winter so far has not been a bitter fight to summer. I've been pleasantly surprised by the lack of snow and copious amounts of sunshine thus far. I have noticed that my Winter disposition is slightly better than it was last year when I was working nights. Still, I notice that I cannot entirely shake off my Winter blues. They always hang on tight until they melt away in the Summer.

On an unrelated note, why do people have wheels on their backpacks? I mean seriously. If you have a back condition, fine. But if you are too lazy to hoist a backpack on your shoulders, that's just ridiculous. Baggage and backpacks greatly differ. Though backpacks can be heavy with books your destinations are probably short  in distance. With luggage, you have to drag heavy bags through a crowded, complicated obstacle course of assholes in a large airport. That makes sense. Drag your luggage. It's probably heavier. But dragging your backpack on wheels? I cannot justify that. That's a new level of laziness I'm just not willing to endorse. The only thing that could possibly make the rolling backpack worse is if it had a built-in heater or cooler in it so you can drag your books and food with you. Don't be lazy, just put the straps on your shoulders and walk the 45 feet to your next class.

On a positive type of update note, my Thanksgiving was good. I worked, ate tons of food, then slipped into a deep food coma the likes of which I have never experienced before. My semester is just about over and I can't be more happy to finish this one and start another one. I have had a most positive semester this time around and hope to carry this momentum on to my future semesters.

On a less positive note, the holidays are here. Christmas music, Christmas decorations, and Christmas "cheer." Yes, it's all here for me to gripe about frequently. I don't love this type of year greatly. I don't love crowded stores. I don't love shopping. I don't love being broke at this particular time of month. I think Christmas is great on paper. An annual holiday dedicated to looking beyond ourselves and buying gifts for those we appreciate most. A holiday dedicated to a time for family and enjoying their company. In reality, Christmas does have those things but is often buried in the stress leading up to the 24 hour event. Buying gifts for family and friends. The money spent, the time wasted fighting douchebags in stores, the worries of not getting the right gift for the right people, or forgetting to get someone a gift. We all stress so hard to have this seemingly magical and cinematic. In the end, the real gratification actually comes from the holiday being over rather than presently enjoying it. The stress and the holiday cheer almost seems forced to me. In many ways that disappoints me. Why is everyone trying so hard to be happy when the actual Christmas day itself is sometimes anticlimactic. Don't get me wrong, I like getting gifts for people and I like to receive gifts myself. But the stress of it all takes away the good elements that we, as society, try so hard to promote and live up to. Maybe my holiday cynicism is the buzzkill for myself. After it's all said and done, I'll be more happy that it's over with and I can continue on with my life not worrying about it for another 11 months.

On a more positive note, my break from school is coming up! Soon I can soak up some nice relaxation time and my friends will be in town to see again. Realistically, I'm sure I'll end up picking up shifts to supplement my income to get ready for the next semester, but it will be nice to have some free time.

That's all for now, folks.

Geriatric Preparation

Now that I'm 25, it's weird telling people that I'm that old. I feel older. I've always considered myself a little bit of an old soul but I'm starting to feel old. Even though I'm in shape, I'm relatively certain that my knees started to ache when it got cold outside yesterday. That has never happened to me before. Now it's only a matter of time before my back and other joints give out to arthritis. Knowing my luck, this is also the beginning of a downhill slope towards an enlarged prostate and impotence. Fantastic. Maybe when I turn 26 I can have my first heart attack and start having annual colonoscopies by the time I'm 27. I'll probably have to empty out my fishing tackle box and replace the lures with what will probably be a mini-pharmacy used keep me alive. My toes have been starting to ache too. I'm probably getting gout, bunions or corns. I might as well start stocking up on some Preparation H for my inevitable hemorrhoids. While I'm at it, I'll start buying stool softeners like they just went out of style. (Because stool softeners have ALWAYS been in!) I'll also need a blender so I can be prepared for my puree diet and then buy Ensure in bulk for when I get a feeding tube. Just to be ahead of the curve, I'm going to start wearing diapers so I can get used to the uncomfortable feeling of shitting my pants and walking around in it for hours. Next, I'll steal urinary catheters for my personal use to eliminate the risk of tripping and breaking my hip at night while walking to the bathroom. I'm betting my bones are probably about as strong as twigs. I will be breaking bones left and right!

Now that I've accepted that I'm old, I can now accept my mental downtrend towards senility. I'm forgetting everything and about half the shit I say makes minimal sense. Soon I'll start forgetting familiar faces, lose track of the current year, and start accusing minorities of stealing small things that I can't find in my house. I don't think I'm to the point that I can start fondling people as I see fit and then blame it on my age. I'm hoping that time will come as soon as possible so that it can enhance the quality of my declining life.

Now that you all know what is coming, you can now start making arrangements to put me in a nursing home. I'm not picky on which nursing home seeing as though the staff will probably have the decency to accidentally put me out of my misery like most of their other patients. I'll probably die from being left in bed in my own poo for too long or  preferably from being hit by a car after wandering the street unattended.

 I don't need a fancy funeral. Just remember me as I am at the time of death: An average pants-shitting, thirty-something year-old, who aged faster than Robin Williams in that crappy movie, "Jack."

Old Habits Turned to Nostalgia

I used to take long random drives all the time. In the end, I would always end up in the same place so I could write poems in my book. The place I would end up was usually the parking lot of a church under South Mountain. From there I could see most of the Salt Lake valley. For some reason, I always found that place inspiring and calming. I could sit there and think for hours. I could write anything there and feel good about it, even if I was in my cramped car. In the summer, I would walk around the park that was directly next to it. I could lay in the grass and let my mind drift.

 It was my place. It was my area. On especially stressful days, I didn't just want to be there; I needed to be there. I couldn't wait until I could just jump in my car and drive there. It felt so far away but without being far from home. I felt removed from everyone there. It was practically a habit to just go there 2-5 times a week. I always thought it was a place I would come back to for years to come.

Eventually, I stopped writing poetry. As a result, I went to that place less. I didn't need that hill top to write, but it was a nice place to think. Then I started taking less random drives that would eventually lead me to that place. I didn't need a special place to think anymore. After a while, the hilltop lost its significance to me. It was no longer a destination that hosted my thoughts on seemingly emergent basis's. Soon I just stopped going.

Yesterday, I decided to take a random drive for no real apparent reason. I just wanted to get out of the house. Just like old times, I drove to that hilltop. I smiled as I drove into the parking lot. It was nice to know that it was there. Not that I thought it wouldn't be. It's a relatively new area where a lot of rich people live. I know it's not going anywhere. The memories stirred from inside my head. So many thoughts. So many emotions. I was a different person 5 years ago. It's strange to how much just a little place like that meant to me. Now it serves as a memory beacon of who I once was. I'm not the emotionally charged, young twenty-something struggling to control and make sense of his emotions through a poetic medium.

Maybe I didn't really need the place to write or think. Maybe I just needed something more calming than myself to call my own.

I took this picture not knowing that the house with the odd green light would accidentally become the focus of the picture. On my phone, you couldn't see it at all. I just wanted to get the city. I spent countless hours marveling at the city lights from here.

If I Was a Superhero........

Everyone has dreamed of being a superhero at least once in their life. After watching a superhero movie, everyone always says "I wish I had (insert preferred powers here) so I could (insert ludicrous scenario here)." I know I'm certainly guilty of it. In fact, I've thought about it too much recently. I have all the details thought out. Right down to the exact type of bad guys I would fight.

Oh yes, if I was a superhero, it would be grand. It's hard to say exactly what kind of powers I would have. I wouldn't be able to choose just one. Knowing my luck, I would most likely have the least awesome of super powers. Powers that no one else would have or want. For example, one of my many powers would be to have the ability to summon minor B-list celebrities to my aid! That sounds pretty useless. But what supervillian would expect that? None of them!

Scenario:

Supervillain: It's all over for you J-Dub (my superhero name). You don't have anyone to help you now. I will be the manager of this mall forever! Bwah ha ha ha ha! 
(Maybe the guy isn't a supervillain, maybe he is just an incompetent dumbass. But someone still needs to fight those types of douchebags)

J-Dub: Not so fast! I summon Pat Sajak, Alex Trebek and Bob Barker to my aid! (They will ideally appear out of thin air or burst through the ceiling.)

Supervillain: Oh wow! I'm your biggest fan to all of you, you have no idea! Will you sign my chest?!

While the villain is stunned by the minor celebrities presence, I will sneak up on him and kick them square in the junk. Social crime would be crushed along with his testicles.



I'll admit that is a pretty lame superpower. But it's not the superpower that's important. It's the bad guys. I would like to fight for a city where the bad guys have poor fashion choices and are easy to identify. They would all dress the same and look fairly close alike. Ideally, they would have uni-brows and perpetual 5 o'clock shadow facial hair. Also, if they were all wearing the 1920's striped jail uniforms, that would be convenient as well. Easy identification of a villain and henchmen would be key to my superhero success. In the movies, the bad guy is always equally skilled in hand to hand combat as the hero. In order for me to be a successful superhero, this could not happen. My villains would have to be terrible at fighting in order for me to win consistently. Hopefully, they would have some sort of mental or physical impairment that would make it easy for me to overcome them with my weak male physique. It would also help for them to be gullible and stupid enough that I can just talk them out of not fighting me instead. I can just use my powers of persuasion to convince them that fighting me would just exhaust them physically and the rest of their day would be wasted resting up after the event. (Persuasion would be another superpower of mine that no other superhero has).

I would pretty much be the laziest superhero of all time. Conversely, the city I would be fighting for would have to be equally lazy and stupid to not be able to fend off these imbecile villains themselves. Knowing this city is full of lazy idiots, I would use my powers of persuasion to convince the city to handsomely compensate me for all of my work fighting crime. No superhero has done that before. I would be the first to economically sucker a city into paying me for mediocre work. I imagine the Justice League and other heroes who work only for the concept of justice would frown upon this greatly. However, I believe they would just be mad or jealous because they didn't think about it first. Spiderman, had his opportunities to capitalize on his good deeds and failed to make good on it. Batman doesn't need the money since Bruce Wayne already makes a ton of money. However, I'm sure if he could, Ol' Bruce would find way to launder the money to this corporation so that he has extra funds for his expensive bat-themed operations. Superman wouldn't need the money, though I'm sure he would like to have it so Clark Kent doesn't have to have such a poor dating life with Lois. For once, he could show her the good life instead of taking her out for meager dinners and cute dates on his meager journalist salary. The X-Men get all their funds through Professor X who somehow manages to get money from his students, but probably doesn't get any sort of financial help from the government. It probably wouldn't hurt them to get some extra cash. But alas, I would still be the lone wolf getting paid for my crime fighting.



This has to be the nerdiest blog I've written in a long time. I found it in my draft section dating back to April of 2008. I decided to finish it for lack of better ideas to write about.

Tongue Twister Solver

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Probably none. Woodchucks are horribly stupid and smelly creatures. They are barely capable of long-term survival or simple tasks so they breed like crazy. A woodchucks primary goal in life is to get laid as often as possible before they fall off cliff or get eaten by a hawk. When they aren't having crazy rodent sex, they are hibernating for 3-4 months to escape the winter cold. This all doesn't sound so bad until you get to the part where woodchucks often die violent and painful deaths. Thus, due to a woodchucks probable short life, chucking wood would be the last of a woodchucks concerns. A woodchuck is probably too busy trying to build a hibernation fort or getting some sweet loving. They don't have time to be carelessly and pointlessly chucking wood.

[As you can see from this smug woodchuck's specs, its body is not capable of effective wood chucking skills.]


The name woodchuck technically has nothing to do with wood or wood chucking for that matter. It's all a misnomer, because an old Native American language called them wuchak. Eventually, stupid white people settled into the region and adapted the name to woodchuck. A woodchuck is nothing more than another term for common groundhog.



The real tongue twister answer, in case you were curious is:
A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood.



I like my answer better.

5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me

For some reason, I thought it would be fun to post something random about myself. So without further delay, my random list of 5 things you probably didn't know (or care to know) about me:

1. Almost every time I'm alone in my car, I crank up my music and sing as loud as possible with whatever is playing. It has to be a song that I already know and like. Despite lacking talent in singing, its one of my favorite things to do.

2. 90% of my bad days have a direct link to how much sleep I get. If I'm tired, the day is usually lost to my uncontrollable negative attitude.

3. The more tired I am, the more I talk to myself aloud. My inner thoughts and monologue start becoming outer thoughts, getting gradually louder as I become more tired. If you want to test this, just ask how much sleep I've gotten. If it's less than 6 hours, scoot in close and you can hear me mumble throughout the day. If I fail to get sleep the next day, you won't need to be close. My angry mumbles will be more audible with each passing hour.

4. If I get to know someone moderately well over the course of months or years, (depending on the nature of our relationship like co-worker, acquaintance, etc and if I like you), I make it a personal goal of mine to someday make them laugh till they cry or damn close. I don't know why, but I always find it satisfying to make someone laugh that hard. But as I said, this depends heavily on the relationship. If it's my boss or authority figure that I've known fairly and casually well for a long time, I would not attempt. But for the most part, I generally succeed in this goal.

5. If you see me  randomly sway my arms in an odd fashion, don't be alarmed. Often times without noticing, I air-guitar or air-drum songs that get stuck in my head when I think I'm alone or not being watched. When someone finally sees me or I see them unexpectedly, my arms drop real fast and kind of sway around.


That's some truely pointless shit right there.

Quarter Century Old

These are my last two weeks of not being age 25. The age of 25 has always been scary to me because it marks being a quarter of a century old and signals the downhill of your 20's. They seemed to have gone by so fast. Before I know it, I'll be in my 30's with kids and maybe facial hair. I always pictured myself being so much different at the age of 25. I'm not sure how I will feel soon telling people I'm 25, live with my parents, still working on a degree and still working in an entry level job. Bleh. I don't relish those upcoming moments, but I only have myself to blame for not getting it together sooner. But it's ok. I've got it all together now and for the most part, I'm secure with where I am in life and where I'm going.

Positively speaking, I'm excited for this weekend which will hopefully be full of seeing friends and eating bad food. I shouldn't look forward to the bad food since I just worked my ass off to get to my current state of fitness. But I figure it's a special occasion that warrants the use of beer and greasy foods. That's how I will justify it. Then I'll just be good until my birthday which will probably involve both beer and bad foods again. I'll just need to be good after that too since Thanksgiving is less than a week after that. It will be a challenging month for my waistline and prospective muscle-building attempts. However, I'm still pretty happy about the weight I've been at the past year and a half. Even when I gained 18 lbs over the summer I still didn't look bad and still looked skinny compared to pictures from 2 years ago when I should have been in good shape as well. I plan on being as meticulous as possible regarding my fitness. I want to stay in shape and not fade back into being a fat slob.

On a downer note, the news tells me that snow is coming to the valley tonight and for the weekend. I hate snow, I hate winter. I cannot reiterate this enough. I have absolutely nothing to do in the winter except for becoming an angry legendary shut-in. Every day is a new reminder that winter is starting to slowly make it's away across the border of Fall and into Winter. Maybe I can pick up some new hobby for the winter like sculpting dirty objects out of snow or find ways to recreate Summer-like conditions in my home without using the heater or mind altering drugs.

Anywho, I'll end this boring post now.

Approval

We never stop wanting the approval from those we care about. Whether they be friends, family, co-worker or a personal idol, we never stop searching for that proverbial thumbs-up from them. We all need need it. For some people it drives them, for others it moves them. Today, it did both.

I talked to my good friend on the phone today. We had been playing phone tag for about a week trying to get a hold of each other. I hadn't heard from him in a while and wanted to catch up. It was a good conversation that echoed our usual banter and jokes. We caught up with one another's lives and what was going on. There wasn't anything largely significant. Same old keeping busy, though he was much more busy since he is in medical school.

We talked about medical school and how it was going for him. I casually mentioned the research I had done on  all 159 medical schools recently. I felt surprisingly confident about getting to med school despite the odds. He was noticeably happy. His tone of voice changed. In a way, I've always looked to him for guidance on this subject since that was the route he has done successfully. Despite all my academic shortcomings he was supportive of my plans to get to med school and gave advice. For a time, I always thought I had lost his approval and that he felt I couldn't do it. But then it hit me. He had always been supportive about this route. He had always offered help and advice in a realistic but positive manner. I suddenly remembered the time I told him I was going back to pre-med instead of nursing. I remember he remarked that he was glad I was doing pre-med again because it bummed him out when I decided on nursing for a while. He thought I was capable of more. He has always been supportive. Maybe that's because that's what best friends are supposed to do or maybe he really does believe I'm smart and capable enough to do it. I'm not sure, but it has always sounded sincere.

I guess I have always looked up to him more than I thought. I never realized that his approval meant so much to me until having the conversation we had today. It wasn't anything special, but it was nice to know that he believed I could do it and encouraged me to do it. It was nice to realize that he always believed I could do it.

I sit here now motivated and ready to tackle it all again. I can do this.

The only way to not let his belief and everyone else's belief be in vain is to just get through it and make it to medical school. Not just for them, but for myself as well.

November is Cold

Halloween night was so nice and warm. Then the second it hit November 1st, it got ice cold in a matter of seconds. I was hoping my unrealistic hopes would hold out to being warm for another week or two.

Anywho, I've been slacking on my blogging lately because I've had nothing to write about really. Plus, I just plain old haven't felt like writing anything. Laziness has been a powerful factor in a lack of my writing. But here is the quick scoop as to what has been going on in my life recently.

I didn't do anything Halloween weekend or day because I worked. Which of course was just awful. It's a horrible holiday to get stuck working no matter what time of day you work it. I'm back to my goal weight finally, which is good. It only took me a month to do so. That has to be a record somewhere. Now I'm back to my attempts at building muscle which have been productive but tiring so far. My good friend RJ comes back into town tonight so that will rock. Hopefully I'll manage to to see him at least once since I'm sure he will have a lot of people to visit during his short stay.

That's really about it. I'll do better in my posting from here on. It's cold outside now and that will prevent me from having any adventure-related excuses for not writing. School and laziness will be my only excuses for not writing. I'll try to keep the laziness to a minimum.

In the meantime, here is a random picture to hold you over.

Horror Movie Survival Guide

Even though October is my second favorite month, Halloween is one of my least favorite holidays. By middle school the holiday had lost most of it's allure to me. By high school, I was generally disinterested in it. However, I'm going to try not to be the proverbial Scrooge of Halloween this year and try to get "into the spirit" of things by doing a somewhat Halloween-oriented blog.

We have all seen horror movies at one point or the other. I personally don't care for them as I tend to ruin it for other people attempting to watch the movie. I do enjoy really bad and corny horror movies when I can get my hands on one. I don't think there is such a thing as a "good" horror movie without it being awful in every respect to the art of film. Regardless of what you define as a good or bad horror movie, they all tend to share a similar formula in how people die or get killed. This post will hopefully help you avoid dying in horror-movie-related ways by following my carefully thought out advice.

If you find yourself in a situation where a psychotic serial killer is on the loose (or find yourself in the midst of a zombie or alien invasion, although this will mostly apply to serial killer scenarios), here are some basic steps to follow:

1. Start making friends with people who are extremely beautiful or part of some sort of minority. Extremely beautiful minorities are a bonus. It's common knowledge that minorities and beautiful people have the lowest rate of survival against psychotic serial killers. Surround yourself with these human shields to buy you some time while you figure out a clever (or implausible) way to thwart your potential murderer.

2. It's also helpful to start befriending obnoxious assholes, stuck-up girls, and popular public figures. After your minority friends are toast, the next in line are (and not necessarily in this order) stuck-up college girls, obnoxious frat boys, crooked local politicians, surly authority figures, and local celebrities. Depending on the efficiency of the killer, these layers of people could score you up to a night and a half of survival. That's way past the average!

3. If you're ugly or out of shape, this does not count you out as a potential target. Usually the ugly and the obese are one of the last people to go. But somehow the serial killer always manages to cleverly trap this group with cake or promises of free plastic surgery. To avoid this demise, keep in shape but don't look bad or great. Shoot for mediocre or average. This will surely increase your chance of survival by leaps and bounds.

4. Ladies, this advice is specifically for you. It's no coincidence that a woman usually ends up surviving serial killer, zombie and alien invasion in the end. However, many, many women are killed off in the process by the end of the movie. Here is a small list of things to avoid  in order to increase your chances of being the last pair of ovaries standing:
 
    i. Avoid showering alone in your empty house/apartment knowing full well that your friends are far away, dead, or mysteriously absent. Until the whole "people dying randomly" crisis is over, it's best you avoid showering altogether.
    ii. Avoid locker rooms. Seriously. Whether zombies are eating your friends, or a serial killer is offing your high school crush or aliens are destroying your hometown; now is not the time to go to the gym. Especially avoid high school and college lockers rooms. Nude deaths are not uncommon in these areas.
    iii. Avoid that seemingly nice guy you just met. He might say off-putting things like "I'd kill to be with you." Or "I'd die a thousand deaths if you would just kiss me." There is a 50/50 chance that this man is the serial killer. On the other hand, he might just be a nice awkward guy who might help you survive 10 extra minutes by sacrificing himself. Don't take the chance. Avoid strange men and their charms.
    iv. Avoid hot and tempting sexual encounters at all costs. Something about absurdly violent, high casualty situations makes women uncontrollably sexual. I don't know the science behind it, but horror movies don't lie. Half the women in the movies die during or after sexual transactions, usually in the bedroom or shower. Of all times to control your generally dormant urges, now is the time to keep that shit under control.
    v. Avoid alcohol or drugs. Drunk people in general are no help during these events. Drunk chicks are just sirens that help serial killers track your group. Stay sober, stay alive.

5. In the movie "Zombieland," the main character emphasizes that cardio is the key to surviving a zombie attack. This is possibly the best piece of advice I can pass down to you. Keeping in shape will help you outrun zombies or potential serial killers (but probably not aliens). Do not jog! Seriously. People jog to their hideouts from a serial killer who just chase after them at a light pace. Leave nothing to chance. Have the ability to run like hell and don't look back. This method only works if you don't run directly to a closet or enclosed space.

6. Do not investigate weird noises in your empty apartment or oddly silent rooms. If you are one of those insatiably curious types, your odds of survival have just been cut in half. Do not investigate tapping noises, foot steps or faint heavy breathing sounds.

7. As mentioned in #5, do not hide in closets or enclosed spaces. Serial killers, zombies and aliens all have enough intelligence to figure out that you are hiding somewhere stupid like a closet, a bath tub with the curtain pulled and air vents. If mindless, brain-eating zombies can find you in a closet, then your hiding place is both obvious and stupid and you deserve to be the next victim. Avoid enclosed spaces!

8. Telephones don't work. They never work. Don't waste your time with the pay phone from 1984 or the land line of your home. Cell phones are also useless as they will somehow have no service. Your foe has probably already figured out a way to cut off easy communication so don't waste your time.

9. Don't waste your time with the police or military. This always ends up being bad news. They are usually both wiped out, corrupt, or incredibly useless. You can take your chances but there is a high probability of failure and death.

10. Learn how to use weapons and/or know how to fight. Every movie, someone has the chance to put an end or delay to the catastrophe. Usually this is botched when someone does not know how to aim a firearm at point-blank range or does not know how to stab in deadly areas. Knife-wielding is always the most embarrassing. Everyone always cuts the arm or leg. You don't have to be a doctor or a geek to know that this will not kill any serial killer, zombie or alien. If you can't operate a firearm, knife or even a blunt object, then at least know how to kick something square in the junk. It may be your last hope.



Well, that is all the advice I can offer. If you can offer more or better advice, please leave a comment.

Hope you enjoyed my blog!

Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone!

Fast-Food Funeral

Today, one of my co-workers mentioned that my driving is crazy. He saw me driving on the freeway last week and thought I was "Speedracer." I disagreed. I remember the day he saw me driving. I was actually only going the speed limit passing people up. Everyone was driving slow because a highway patrol car was ahead. I fearlessly led the way by going exactly 65 MPH while all the other pansies went a safe 60 MPH. After I explained this to him he agreed to my view. He then mentioned to me that those types of driving days were over for him. He couldn't risk getting a ticket or an accident since he had a wife and kids. I then agreed with him. He shouldn't be driving crazy knowing he has a family that looks to him to provide.

I don't drive crazy. But if I died as a result of crazy driving, I can't help but think of how funny my funeral might be. I know I've made other humorous posts about my funeral, so let me reiterate this is not a cry for help or a death wish. I just think of ridiculous things for funerals because I think they are so stuffy and sad. I wish funerals were more about the celebration of life rather than the tragedy of one's end. This blog is for comical purposes only and in no way reflects preposterous notions of looking forward to my own funeral. Anywho, now that I've properly disclaimed this blog; on to my thoughts.

I think my funeral would be a small one consisting of close friends and family. But it would be funny if fast-food representatives showed up too. Nothing crazy or big like the CEO of Wendy's. But maybe a few regional presidents of various fast food chains or several local fast food chain managers would show up to pay their respects. I've pumped enough money into the industry that it would practically be disrespectful for them not to show. I can imagine the eulogies now:

"Johnny wasn't a tall man. He wasn't a rich man. He wasn't even a smart man. But he was a hungry man. He often treasured the delights and company of a Wendy's bacon cheeseburger and crispy chicken nuggets. The dollar menu served as his friend and confidant that he kept as close to his heart as the same plaque that clung to his vessel walls. Although we will no longer be receiving his monetary business, we will still think of him fondly and remember how he kept us all going despite the harshest economic recession since the Great Depression."

That one would be a real tearjerker. I would probably sob inconsolably in my grave if I heard that. After the fond farewells and wishes from local fast food chain representatives, my friends would take the podium. One might say something short and sweet like:

"Johnny, if you're listening, I hope there is a dollar menu in heaven. There is just no way heaven hasn't been affected by the recession. If there is no dollar menu, may the wits and tasteless dick and poop jokes from deceased celebrities keep you company. Rest in peace."

-Or-

(After a long heart-felt speech, someone would ideally conclude with:) "I hope there is chicken nuggets where you're going." 

This person would say this while looking thoughtfully and stoically towards the sky. Maybe a small tear would be visible then. Their brows would be furrowed with both sorrow and hope that perhaps there is an all-you-can-eat fast food bar where I'm going. Then they would drop a dollar over my casket and walk away sullenly. This would be followed by everyone else in line who would drop a dollar or two on my grave so I could take their money to the afterlife for fast food. The ancient Egyptians did it. $32.43 probably won't be enough to get me through eternity, but it's a start. I only assume it would be this approximate amount since most of the people I know are cheap. I'm sure most of it will be in change too, but someone might throw a 20 dollar bill  during the impulsive heat of their emotions.

Anyway, that's all I can write. For some reason, I found this concept hilarious in my head. I doubt many will find this as humorous. But meh. 

Enjoy.

Zombie Gorilla Madness

Last night I had a dream that shook me to my core. The dream was brief and nonsensical, but it was pretty awesome anyway.

I was in three different neighborhoods at one time. First, I was standing in my grandparents garage who live in Idaho. My dad was explaining to me that gorillas were somehow running rampant through the neighborhood with some sort of virus that had something to do with too much fluid on their brain (zombie enchephalitis?). In any case, it was contagious and gets transferred through their saliva from bites. It wasn't strictly said, but it was obvious what this was: zombie gorillas.

My dad explained to me that we had to kill as many of them as we could but we couldn't shoot them in the head. We had to study their brains to understand what was going on. My dad then armed himself with a rifle. He handed me his .380 Beretta handgun. Why does he get the rifle and I get this dinky thing to kill zombie gorillas? This is barely enough to put down a rabbit. How am I supposed to kill a zombie gorilla with this? Something is probably going to go horribly wrong.

We walked out of the rear door of the garage where I was magically transported to my neighbors backyard. I looked across the street to where my house normally is only to find it wasn't there. It was a dark field where I could only hear loud rumbling. I walked down the street with my dad away from where my house would be. We walked towards a random house, which actually happened to be my front yard/driveway. The direction we walked to get there was completely opposite from where my house actually is.

Suddenly, a gorilla emerged from the darkness. It was coming at me full speed with crazy rage. My dad made no effort to shoot the furry undead beast. He just casually said "Shoot it." I aimed the small pistol and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I looked at the gun and checked the action. I had the safety on! Even in my dreams I forget to take the safety off! I flipped the safety switch off and aimed. I took one shot and the gorilla dropped.

Sweet. I'm pretty good at this action hero thing. More gorillas appeared from the side of my house. They were now walking on the walls of my house towards me. That's some trippy shit. I took aim and fired but I couldn't hit them. They got closer and closer. I fired more shots not hitting one of them. They were coming fast. This it. My fate is winding down to a death by zombie gorillas. One leaped on to me and sunk its teeth in my neck.

I woke up in a near cold sweat. I looked around to check my surroundings. I don't know why since I knew that was all a dream and was also reasonably certain that zombie gorillas didn't actually exist.

"That dream was sweet," I said to myself with a slight smile.

I then got up and got ready for work.

Operation: "I Have a Massive Correction."

Last night, I was reading through my older blogs only to find my grammatical errors were more extensive than I thought. The errors were especially bad in my graveyard shift days. It's not that I don't know how to write. I just hate editing my blogs because I'm lazy. Most of my mistakes are missing words. My typing often can't keep up with the words in my mind. I'm usually excited to just get my ideas written out. I've always been against editing old material as I have always believed that it takes away from the original moment of the writing. However, my errors of missing words have taken away more from my writing rather than helping.

I'm rather fond of backhanded remarks and comments. But those beloved backhanded remarks are sometimes lost in my laziness to correct broken sentence structure. Therefore, it is my duty as the author of these terrible blogs, to right which is wrong in my writing. My blogs will be more readable and thusly more enjoyable once corrected. English is actually my best subject. It may not show due to my laziness. But fear not loyal reader, errors will be corrected and your faith in my abilities to properly contstruct a sentence will not be for nothing.

Starting today,  I will be reading through old blogs and correcting these errors from the past couple of years. My older blogs from 2005-2007 will not be touched. They will be left in their entirety on purpose. My more recent works will be modified for better readability and clarity.



Operation: "I Have a Massive Correction," has now begun.


In case you haven't got the joke by now, the title of this blog is supposed to sound very close to "I Have a Massive Erection." A little play on words that makes this operation that much sweeter.

A Much Needed Fishing Trip

Saturday morning I was supposed to go fishing with my dad who ended up backing out in favor of doing chores instead. He was right to do so since I didn't catch anything. However, it was nice just to be outdoors, alone on Starvation Reservoir. The air was clear and I could fully appreciate my silent surroundings. It was so peaceful and the weather was perfect. I took a deep breath and let my pent up stresses melt away. Despite going through every ounce of tackle I owned and coming back empty-handed, I just felt good knowing that I was there. It won't be long before warm outdoor fishing trips are no longer an option for my well-being. I enjoyed every second.

At first, I didn't get why I wasn't catching anything. I was in perfect parts of the lake. I mean, super perfect. They just looked like breeding grounds for trophy fish. I know those places work since I've fished them before. This time was different. I was alone. It was almost intimate in a way. These spots were so perfect, I only wished in some way I could get these spots pregnant. That way I could make more perfect fishing spots just like those ones. Of course, it would turn ugly since the lake and I wouldn't be married which would bring great shame to our families. We would decide we don't work out and can't make it work despite good chemistry. The lake would decide it's best that I never see my perfect fishing spots again. Despite my promises to be the best weekend dad ever, the lake shuns me and says I can't be anywhere near the little miracle fishing spots I helped create in a moment of passion. My heart would be broken, my future fishing trips spoiled, and my perfect fishing spots would just turn into used up losers that aren't capable of supporting decent-sized fish. It would all be quite tragic.



Anywho, I blame my lack of catches on going fishing the day after a full moon. The fish had probably already filled up on bugs and lesser smaller fish. My lack of foresight was the problem.

Still, I'm reminded of the quote "Your worst day fishing is always better than your best day at work."

So True.


So True.







Oh and I've been obsessed with the lyrics at the end of this song I discovered. I'll leave you with this instead of an awkward image of me making love to a lake.

October Fall
If We're All Alone, Aren't We in This Together?

(Last Verse)
I won't burn out, I'll just burn up
And I was raised on excellence
Always taught to look my best
I don't wanna be just anybody
I don't wanna be anything you forget
Villains die and heroes live forever
Tragic endings get remembered
I don't wanna be just anybody
I don't wanna be anything you forget....

Memories That Seem Like Movies: Part 4, Section B

I took a deep breath and exited my car slowly. I now have to face them and actually make conversation. We walked towards the movie theater. "Do you even go to Jordan?" asked one of the girls. I looked around for a second to make sure she was talking to me, as if there might have been someone else nearby that she could be talking to. "Yeah, why?" I asked. Was that the right thing to say back? That's being involved in the conversation right? "It's just that I've never seen you around before." replied the girl. What do I say now? Sorry you've never seen me before? No, that's dumb. Don't apologize for being a hidden and nameless face in the hall. I try very hard to go unnoticed.

Wait a second! Who am I even talking to? I hadn't taken my eyes off my shoes and the dirty sidewalk since I walked out of my car. I hadn't even bothered to look at who is actually talking to me. I figured I should at least glace at the person who is quizzing me on my participation in school. I looked up and the first thing I saw was a brick pillar, smothered in old gum. I looked to my right. Strangers. I looked to my left, nobody. Where the hell did everyone go? "Behind you, dumbass," said Damon. I heard the girls giggle. Great. Now I look like a dumbass. I'm making an awesome first impression. I must have looked like an awkward autistic kid, always keeping quiet, avoiding eye contact, and making below-average-intelligence decisions. I turned to see Damon with a girl at each side of him. One was a short blonde girl with a nice smile and big blue eyes. The other was a short, but plain looking girl in glasses, brown hair, freckles and with a giant grin on her face. I've never seen them before. How does Damon know these girls? They are pretty good looking. Not to say Damon couldn't get attractive women to hang out with him. I guess I just wasn't expecting attractive girls to be around me.

"So Damon tells me you're in a band. What instrument do you play?" asked the brown haired girl. "Drums. It's cool." I replied. I felt like an idiot. She smiled and said "Are you excited for the movie? I've always wanted to see this. I hear it's way scary." I flatly replied, "The movie looks ridiculous. At the very least I'll get a good laugh out of the crappy plot or bad acting."  The blonde girl turned and raised her eyebrow at me. Smooth move. Maybe I can also talk to her about my love for Star Wars and Star Trek, or maybe even tell her that Taco Bell almost makes me crap my pants every time I eat there. Maybe I'll ask her to feel my armpits for strange bumps to check for cancer. I am not good at this whole conversation thing. How does Damon do this? He makes it seem so easy and smooth. Here I am looking like a cynical jackass.....Well I was/am. But I even knew back then that a cynical personality was effective girl repellant. I needed to shape up, if not for my sake, for Damon's sake at least. I don't have to take him down with me. "I'm sorry I have a bad memory but I don't remember, what were your names again?" I asked innocently. I still have a chance to save my sinking ship if I act nice enough. "Heidi." said the brown haired girl. "Brittany," said the blonde. Ok, I can remember that. Heidi is the one talking to me, Brittany is the the one giving me looks as if I'm from another planet. Got it.

We started walking to our seats. Damon and I were walking ahead of them exchanging witty banter about the potential crappiness of the film we were about to sit through. Behind us the girls whispered very quietly. I was certain they were planning to bail on us. Any moment I figured one of them would make an excuse about a beloved animal suddenly dropping dead at home or they just remembered they had to wash each others hair that night. I blew it for both of us, I knew it! Damon picked our seats in a nearly empty theater. We shuffled toward the middle of a row towards the back. As we shuffled, I silently waited for the bail-out excuse. But there was none to be had. The girls looked at each other, giving one another dirty looks. "Here it comes," I thought. They were just deciding who was going to break the excuse. But instead, one stepped in front of me to stand on one side of me and the other passed Damon to sit on my other side. What the hell? Are they trying to make a girl-boy-girl-boy pattern? Why? Damon shot me a confused glance. I just shrugged and sat down. To my left, Heidi sat their looking at me nervously. To my right, Brittany looked at me smiling. She winked at me. Who does that? Who winks anymore? What does that mean? I panicked. I'm sitting between two girls whom I've never met before and they are acting weird. I bet I got something stuck in my hair! Or did Damon slap a sign on my back again? He was notorious for doing that. This was just too weird. I tried to run my fingers casually through my hair to check for paper or popcorn or whatever might have gotten stuck in my shaggy afro. Nothing. I scratched my back as if to have an itch to check for a sign. Nothing. Everyone got eerily silent. Something just happened and I wasn't getting it. The girls knew. Damon knew. I didn't.

After fielding a few more awkward questions about myself between Heidi and Brittany, the movie finally started. Finally! I had never been so excited for a bad movie to start. These questions and weird behaviors were freaking me out. Damon hardly said a word the past 15 minutes. Why aren't they asking him anything? He actually knows how to communicate! As the movie rolled on, so did the awkward times. Brittany kept asking me questions about the movie and what I thought would happen next. I just kept replying "I don't know," even though I knew perfectly well what was going to happen next. The movie was predictable and shitty. I didn't want to say anything and ruin the movie. As far as I knew, girls hated that sort of thing. Heidi kept on leaning in close to me to ask how I was doing or asked if I was scared yet. I kept replying I'm fine although I was most certainly not fine on the inside. In my head all I could think was "What the fuck is going on and what do I do?" I was freaking out. How do I interpret this needlessly complicated girl language? Halfway through the movie Brittany nudged my hand with her hand. I withdrew it thinking I was just in the way of her comfortable armrest. I turned and said "Sorry." She raised her eyebrow again at me and then shot me a dirty look. She turned to watch the movie again. I was perplexed. I apologized for being in the way of her comfort, what more does she want? What's her problem? At that moment, Heidi snatched up my hand into hers. I turned to look at her. She wouldn't look at me, she just kept watching the movie casually. Is this real? What do I do? My palms instantly started producing sweat in mass quantities. "Is this first base?" I thought. No that's stupid. First base is kissing right? No, no, this is definitely second base. Isn't it? She let go of my hand after a couple of minutes. I soaked her hand in nervous sweat. She then put her hand on my thigh. Oh shit, this is like third base isn't it? No, that can't be right. Where does a kiss fit in the ballpark then? Is that the home-run? I then wished I had paid more attention to Branden and Kyle's stories of conquest and knew more about baseball. Suddenly, the movie produced a loud noise. Heidi screamed and clung on to me.

Great, another challenge. Now what do I do? Do I comfort her and tell her what she is afraid of is nothing more than a loud noise during a silent scene to make up for weak plot content?

Memories That Seem Like Movies: Part 4, Section A

I hate it when people say "My adolescent years were hard for me." As if to imply their puberty-induced awkwardness was somehow more uniquely difficult. Join the freaking club! Just like everyone else, it was difficult for me as well. I was quiet and awkward around and girls my age. I wasn't well-liked among girls in my middle school for one reason or the other despite keeping quiet and intentionally staying out of the way. In my sophomore year of high school, that somewhat changed. My friend Damon dragged me to a dollar movie to see "The Ring." I didn't want to see the movie. It looked stupid and plotless. I would have rather wasted my money on gas for my car or new equipment for my drums. However, this dollar movie occasion was somewhat different. Damon promised girls he knew would be there and had managed to talk me up a little bit. This concept intrigued me. I had never been to a movie with a girl before. I was suspicious at first. I figured we might be getting used as a means for these girls to get into a movie for free. Who would want to go to a movie with me anyway? They must be after something. I quickly dismissed this notion upon realizing that going to a dollar movie with two girls wasn't exactly going to cause me to go broke. I decided to go but was still wary. Who were these girls? How did they know Damon? What did he tell them about me? And how the hell did I get dragged into this again? Curiousity, I guess. Maybe this could lead to something...... A girl liking me, perhaps? Nah...... Implausible! I was admittedly nervous but didn't fret too much. Damon got nicely dressed with a button-up shirt and cologne. I put on an old skater hoody and called it good. I looked in the mirror to make sure I didn't look like a total hobo. I had grown out my hair to super shaggy lengths again. I knew I didn't look good, but I didn't care since I expected no girl would like me anyway. All I cared about was skateboarding, music and friends. This time was slightly different. I didn't care exactly how I dressed, but I tried to look a little nicer than usual. I tried to make sure my hair looked a little more uniform rather than completely scraggly as if I just woke up. That's about as far as it went. I wasn't expecting much out of this other than getting the experience of having to deal with a girl outside of school on a social basis.

I was the only one with access to a car and a license. It was the curse of turning 16 long before everyone else. The girls apparently didn't have a car either. Now the task of going to pick them was now in my awkward hands. Shit. What's the protocol for this sort of thing? Do I go to the door? Do I wait for them to come outside? I didn't want to deal with it. I looked to Damon for advice who remained positive and tried to give me pointers on what to say. I didn't actually ask for his help, he just willingly gave it, perhaps sensing my nervousness. Or he just knew from nine years of friendship that I had absolutely no experience in dealing with girls except from online chatrooms. I was relieved he was giving me pointers, but I pretended like I didn't need them. I was cool, right? Damon was a heavy-set but confident kid. He was chatting up girls on a professional level when we were just in elementary school; while I played basketball, drew pictures about Star Wars, and went on long walks around the playground by myself. He had a long head start. This wasn't his first rodeo. I was glad he was there, but somewhat annoyed by his condescending presence. He was the confident master and I was the naive pupil. His advice was nice to have but he relished that he knew this subject way better than me. He made it a point to make that known in his own little way. He was a good friend, but he was always very competitive. He had no problem letting me know where I stood compared to him in other subjects. Despite his passive aggressive competitiveness, I was still glad he was there. My little annoyances will have to be set aside if I am to learn what he knows.

I wouldn't go to the door to pick up the girls. What if the dad was scary? He would take one look at me and be like "You're not actually here to pick up my daughter, are you? Because there is no way in hell you are taking her to a movie you filthy hippy." Turns out, this girl's father was not present in her life. I still refused to go to the door anyway. I sent Damon out instead, who rolled his eyes and laughed. It was dark by this time. The bright porch light made him into a detail-less silhoullete. I saw two small female figures emerge in the doorway. I couldn't see them well but I hoped they were good looking. If they were good looking, then I would have something to talk about as far as girls went. My other friends were already dating and giving me crap for not dating. I could picture it now: Kyle would give me a high five and say something like "Finally, Johnny is dating hot chicks." Whereas Branden would say some dick comment that would actually mean a compliment in his language like "About time you fuckin' weird-ass loser." Yes, the glory would be mine! No more just talking about girls who were hot and marveled at from a distance. I could be going on a date with a potential hot girl right now. I could finally speak from experience like my other friends. But what if they were ugly and weird? Well that's easy, I could just blame Damon later on for setting me up for disaster. "It was his idea!" I would say in my defense. "At least it was a date," I would then digress casually. It was perfect. I had a way in or out either way!

The two girls got in the backseat of my car, while Damon sat in the front seat with a smug smile on his face. I didn't dare look back. "Stay cool, be casual," I reassured myself in my head. Damon looked in the back seat and said "This quiet guy here is my friend, Johnny. Why don't you girls say hi and thank him for taking us to our destination?" The girls giggled and said thanks. I still didn't look back. I managed to mumble a weak "You're welcome." I put the car in drive and drove towards the theatre. The girls introduced themselves but I didn't pay attention to what their names were. I was too consumed in my nervousness to care. The movie theatre was only two minutes away from their house. We could have walked there if we wanted. "I can't believe I'm wasting gas on this. I need this gas for other things," I thought. I couldn't think of what those other things were, but I was convinced this car trip that totaled 8 minutes was a waste of my personal resources. Damon and the girls bantered about various subjects during the short trip. They sounded nice. But I still hadn't actually seen them. I tried to sneakily look in my rearview mirror to see if I could catch a glimpse of their faces. It was too dark to see them. The only thing I was able to know for sure is that one was blonde and the other might have had freckles. I stayed silent and concentrated on driving. Maybe if I looked like I was concentrating on driving, I wouldn't have to talk. It would be the perfect excuse for my awkward silence.

I got more nervous as we parked in the theatre parking lot. I didn't anticipate being this nervous. This wasn't supposed to be a big deal! Now I have to look at them and make conversation. What if I say something stupid? What if I don't say anything at all and look stupid for that too? What if I trip and fall? What if one of them asks me questions? I am NOT prepared for this!

Stupid People and Love

Some people reallllllly overindulge what they think love is or should be. It's no surprise that these same people are usually in a perpetual string of failed relationships. It's as if they feel like they are entitled to be loved. But who wants to love a selfish person like that anyway? I heard one person once quote this to me by memory:

Love is patient, is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud, it is not rude. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil. Love rejoices with truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, never fails.


It's a nice optimistic quote and is true for people who are actually capable of feeling love and are capable of returning it back equally. However, the same people who think they believe this are not patient or kind and tend to be envious of the love that everyone else has. They do brag about minor accomplishments and are relentlessly proud of useless accomplishments. They tend to be rude, selfish and attention starved, and are actually quite easily angered. They really do keep track of wrongs and rights and delight in putting people down for their own self-esteem. They don't always relish in telling the truth if it makes themselves appear interesting. They only protect people if it suits them, they trust very little and often do not actually persevere over the most minor of obstacles. And love, in fact, does fail. Our divorce rates prove it. I find that people who quote this are not any of the above things that love entails, hence the reason why no one tends to love them for long amounts of time, if at all.

All the while, this same lovesick, attention-starved dumbass usually has to frequently reassure themselves of how great and beautiful they think they are and how they deserve the best. Ironically, they don't get the best nor do they deserve it. I don't have one person to pin this on but multiple people who do this EXACT same crap. Some might argue it makes them feel better and gets them through. But what's the point? No one loves a selfish person, and if they do, it's not for long. I'm not exactly a love expert but putting yourself on this magnificent psychological throne of greatness will always guarantee your loneliness. Nothing will live up to the standards that you think love is. No one will be perfect. No one will love someone so self-consumed and greedy.

All I can say to all the disappointed women out there is, shape up, be a better person, or enjoy all the years you have to look forward to of watching your uterus turn to a dried up raisin. Love isn't like the movies. Maybe it's time to start looking at what's wrong with you instead of what you think is wrong with everyone else.

I had to rant about this. I'm so tired of having to interact with people like this, or indirectly interact with people like this via Facebook.

On the up side, I feel better now that I've ranted.

Thank you, blog.

Coffee and Weight Loss

If you were hoping I would tell you some secret about how coffee helps you lose weight, you assumed wrong. They are merely just two different subjects in my blog. Sorry to disappoint. 

After my disappointing midterm last night, I went to buy some coffee. I figured it might help ease my anger knowing that I had a wide and delicious selection of coffee. It eased my anger a little bit. But I know that even in my darkest, most money-broke days, I will have coffee no matter what. It took me 6 months to run out of my moderate supply. I easily have a years worth of coffee right now. I have so many different kinds to try, it's just simply awesome. I now have sampling many coffees to look forward to.

On a slightly more positive note, I have lost a lot of weight. My genetics and youthful metabolism are still playing in my favor. I only have to lose 4 more pounds to get to my ultimate goal again. I gained exactly 18 lbs over the summer. I've lost 14 of it in roughly 3 weeks just by eating my calorie limit with healthy foods. I haven't had time to do a ton of exercise. I've only been able to do weight lifting 3 days a week for very short periods of time. I would like to lift more often, or at least do some more cardio. That would at least help me lose the stubborn fat that's clinging to my belly. Losing weight easily is really a double-edged sword. On one hand, I lose weight easily and rapidly. On the other hand, I gain it back just as easily. To compound things, my love for fattening and greasy foods knows no bounds. In past years, I didn't have much of a sweet tooth. I've found that I love pastries and ice cream almost as much as greasy foods. The only thing standing between me and morbid obesity to the point of getting disability checks, is my fragile self-control. My self-control fluctuates more than the mood swings of a pregnant and bi-polar crack addict. Even when I had gained that amount of weight, it wasn't insanely obvious, except for maybe in my face. I've done really well losing the amount of weight I have and not coming close to my original heavy weight. I try to stay positive by thinking I've kept off a ton of weight over the past year and a half-ish. I just have to keep on this path for ideally, the rest of my life.

I had nothing decent to write about today, so you got stuck reading about my coffee and weight loss.
(This also helps me keep track of my progress.)

Sucks for you.

Lil' Douchebag Suits

Every time I go to Walmart, I see these little exercise suits. These would be acceptable or even cute for kids who were in a junior basketball league or some kind of sports. They are perfect bench and warm up suits. But if they were used outside of this context, the results would be catastrophic.

It's no secret that people who wear track suits outside of an exercise or sports related environment are douchebags. Even creeps can sport this look with relative ease. What if little boys were to wear these as regular clothing? We would see a drastic increase of douchebaggery, the likes of which we have never seen before. There would be a lot of little creeps hanging out by the monkey bars of the playground with greasy slicked back hair, partially unzipped track jackets showing a wife-beater tank top and cheap gold necklace underneath. They would just hang out there casually winking and snapping at the passing girls and propositioning some to play a game of "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

We can't take the risk for this type of cataclysmic douchebaggery to happen. The cons are greater than the pros. I recommend an immediate burning of these douchebag suits. It's bad enough we have a plentiful supply of teenage and adult douchebags; we don't need the virus to spread to our children too. It's not long before these suits start including the cheap gold necklaces and wife-beater tank tops. We don't have time. We have to act now to save our youth from complete and utter social failure!


Think of the children! Would you please just think of the children?!

I Still Love Science

Since I was a kid, I've always loved science. Even when I was a young child, I loved it. I'm not sure if I inherited my love for science from my dad or if my curious behavior was just well nourished to let it develop. My parents always nourished my curiosity with answers and always tried to make me learn new things.

In elementary school, I loved science. I was always disappointed when we didn't have a enough of it. I loved astronomy and anything on anatomy the best. But I still loved everything else science-related.

I loved how it provided answers. It provided improvement. It provided sense. It provided me an outlet to find my answers. Everything so accurate and precise. So sophisticated.

I was always in love with science from the beginning. I still am. From the nerdy books I read on astrophysics to the medical research I read on my own free time. I love it all.

If I was even halfway decent at math, I think I would pursue a science-intensive career. Maybe in biology or physics.  I just stand in awe at the accomplishments of science and always wonder how I can maybe one day contribute. There is nothing more noble than contributing to a cause that has benefited humankind more than anything.


I couldn't imagine a world where I didn't have science to look forward to.



PS: This is my 300th blog. As a man of science, I have always wanted wanted to pay a tribute to it on this blog. Science has always mattered to me and has always captured my heart and my imagination. Number 300 seemed like as good of time as any.

On Occasion, People Like Me

On occasion, it's nice to know that people like you. It's nice to know that people like having you around and that you are a welcome addition to a social gathering. It's just nice to feel liked and wanted.

For me, it's not always apparent if people like me or not. I've always considered myself as an average person. Someone who doesn't stand out and yet doesn't stand out enough. I even consider myself sometimes as a bit of an outscast or misfit because of my sometimes awkward and dry social skills in the presence of strangers or people I highly respect.

I'm not a man whom you would call the life of the party. But I don't mind being there.
I'm not a man whom you would call a social butterfly. But I'm always listening.
I'm not a man whom you would call extremely funny. But I'm known for witty remarks.
I'm not a man whom you would call super intelligent. But I'm not an idiot.
I'm not a man whom you would call full of character, but I'm not dull. 
I'm not a man whom you would know everything about. But I try to be open.
It's nice to know that people want to be around me despite all my faults. It's nice to know that people like me for my personality, and not because they need something from me.

Even if it seems apparent that people like you, it's always nice to just hear it or know it in your heart. It's a simple need that we as humans strive for.

I'm glad I know the people that I do. They always have the capability beyond your own will (no matter how you might try) to salvage a bad day into a much better one.

Mall People Suck

Sometimes the mall is much better than the circus, Walmart, and the state fair put together. The people watching is most entertaining and worth while. For instance, as I was walking through the mall I noticed that one guy had a firm hand on his junk. I know that is the gangster thing to do nowadays, but really? What does that say to a prospectively attracted females looking at you? It is very unlikely that any female on an evolutionary-based subconscious level would think "You are clearly alpha male by the way you hold your junk. Your seed will make a nice addition to my uterus and/or gene pool." They are more likely to think "Ew! That guy has herpes!" I'm not exactly a dating expert or a chick-magnet of any sorts, but that seems to be the exact opposite of the desired result.

I thought girls at the bar were the most desperate for attention until I walked through Fashion Place Mall on a busy Saturday afternoon. Teenage girls and women old enough to know better, were dressed as if they were trying to take the gold medal in the presitgious but fictional Prostitute Olympics. Aside from the obvious cries for attention by the way they dress, their behavior was also loud and obnoxious. Normally, this would be expected at a bar where alcohol heavily influences the loud and the obnoxious. At the mall, there is no excuse. These women were just as loud and animated as possible without the obvious influence of alcohol or drugs. Instead, they were drunk on the aspect of attracting glances and head turns from passing by men. An optimist might try to explain this as "friends having a good time." This might be the case in girls ranging from ages 12-19 years old. However, I was seeing this behavior with women who were well into their 40's while wearing shirts that were cut so low,there was almost no point in wearing the shirt at all.

Don't even get me started on kids running through the mall unattended. It was an obstacle course of children of all ages. It took all my concentration, hand-eye coordination, and stamina to avoid trampling over kids like a bulldozer. I'm not a big guy either. But if I'm afraid of stepping on kids like they were common midgets (joking), there are probably too many of them in my way. When I was growing up, my parents never allowed that. They were fierce advocates of me not getting trampled in public places. Thanks, mom and dad.

I hate going to the mall and avoid it if I can. But I try to take something positive from it, like watching the behavior of hopeless morons and then blogging about them later.

That makes it bearable.

Memories That Seem Like Movies: Part 3

It was my first time outside of the house for something besides school or work in a few weeks. I was supposed to be running an errand for my dad but I decided to take a small detour to the mall. While I was there, I decided that I would go and check in at this new store that just opened up called Local. It promoted local bands and music in the mall. It was a unique idea and I loved it. I kind of knew the people who owned it. I thought I would see how they were doing and how business was. They seemed like cool people who were as passionate about music as I was. As I approached the store, I noticed there was a crowd of people that filled the tiny place to the exit. I hurried in so I could see what all the fuss was about. It just so happened to be Kyle and Nate on stage doing an acoustic set. My ex-bandmates. Kyle saw me in the crowd and nodded at me. Nate tried not to notice me. They announced their band name as "Broken for Better." How could they? That really hurt. It's bad enough they broke up the band and now they have the audacity to say we were better off? And what was this new band they started? Without me? Why didn't I know about this? I guess we haven't been talking much. I paid close attention to the next song they played. The lyrics were clearly about the band break-up. I was sweltering with anger. All our hard work was summed up in a single song as nothing. That's not what the song implied, but that's how I took it. I turned away in disgust and made my way towards the exit. I glanced back for a second and saw Kyle stand up as if he was going to call my name to stop me from leaving, but he didn't. Even if he had, I wouldn't have stopped. The band breaking up was just one of many wounds that wasn't healing well. High school was only a couple of months away from being over but yet things kept getting worse for me. I was angry and needed someone to blame. I vowed to never talk to them again.



"Stop throwing quarters at me!" This thought ran through my head louder and louder each time that cold hard quarter hit the back of my head. He thought it was funny. I told him a couple of times to stop but why does he keep doing it? This isn't funny. I thought he was my friend. He only keeps getting away with it because the gym is too big for the teachers to see everything. Why do we have to be at this stupid assembly? It needs to end soon so this can stop. "Ow!" I yelled as I held the back of my head. More laughter from that kid. He keeps throwing them harder and harder each time. I've asked him to stop and he won't. No one else is stopping this, so that means I have to. The assembly finally ended. The 7th graders got up first and exited, followed by the 8th graders. 9th graders are up to leave now. This is my chance. I stood and walked towards the kid who kept throwing loose change at my head. He was still sitting down on the gym floor. I stood above him and waited for him to notice me. He finally looked up at me "What the fuck do you want?" he asked with a stupid smile on his face. His other friends were laughing around him about his remark. I wanted to punch him, but I couldn't. My message would have to be quick and subtle so the teachers wouldn't notice. Open-palmed, I slapped him on the back of his head with pretty good force. You could hear the smack contact his bulbous head with a loud snap. "Knock it off!" I yelled. It hurt him pretty good. He leaned over holding his head. A tear hit the gym floor but he tried not to show his friends. I walked away and went to my locker. School was out, I could go home and put this all behind me. As I walked to my locker one of his friends stopped me in the hall. "Dillon is looking for you. He's mad." I didn't show any emotion. "So." I replied. I walked passed his friend and continued towards the exit. Then I felt a hand grab me by the arm. "Hey! I want to fight you. That was bullshit! I'm going to kick your ass." Dillon's normally pale face was bright red and his eyes were bloodshot. He must have really been crying. I didn't hit him that hard, did I? "I don't want to fight. I just wanted you to stop throwing quarters at me since you wouldn't stop when I asked you," I replied meekly. "Fuck you. I'm going to kick your ass. Meet me downstairs where we normally walk home." He walked away. What have I done?! I didn't want it to come down to this!

Memories That Seem Like Movies: Part 2

"I don't see why I have to get my high school diploma. If I'm failing math anyway I'm probably better off with out it," I said confidently. My dad looked unimpressed by my reasoning. He paused for a second. "John, you HAVE to graduate high school. No son of mine is going to be some loser drop-out," my dad replied firmly. I didn't want to show it, but that statement hurt more than I thought it would. Why couldn't my parents just leave me alone? All I want is to be left alone and free to pursue the only passion that has ever mattered to me: music. Is that so much to ask? "You don't need a high school diploma to be in a band, which is what I intend on doing outside of high school anyway." I knew I was losing the argument. There was no way my dad was going to agree with my point of view. I wasn't doing well in math during high school. It was the only class that almost kept me from graduating. I've never been particularly bright with math. It's always been an educational deterrent for me. I was three months away from graduation day and I had two semesters worth of packets for math make-up. It seemed pretty bleak and I was reasonably sure I wasn't going to make it in time. It seemed like giving up was the only way out. "You are going to graduate high school! You are grounded until you pull up you're shitty grades!" My dad was furious. He was red in the face by this point. I didn't have an option. "Ok..... I will do it," I conceded begrudgingly. My youthful logic was centered around friends and making music. It's all I cared about. It's all I wanted to do. But none of that mattered anymore. I was grounded and wouldn't be leaving the house for anything social for three months.



My hands trembled and my chest got tight. I had never played in front of so many people before. There must have been thousands of kids here. Sure, it was homecoming game and the battle of the bands was more or less an opening act to it. But it was on opportunity for people to hear our music. In the stands, I could hear my friends cheer my name. I heard other friends yell our band name. I felt.......so........alive. This is what I loved to do. I was certain of it. This is my calling in life. To make music. Kyle, Nate and Branden were unusually silent. Nate was almost pale while Branden stood stiff as a board. Kyle tried to look loose and calm. Perhaps he was, but I doubted it. He stepped up to the microphone and announced our band name and song. We jumped right into the song. I couldn't hear the crowd. I couldn't hear the music I was playing with. I was on autopilot as my body over-animated my drum playing. Time seemed to slow down as I looked at the crowd and looked across briefly at all their faces. Some were intently listening. Some were jumping up and down screaming and rocking out to the music. A small handful of kids stood there with their arms folded, scowling: one of the competing bands that didn't do so well. "Screw em," I thought. Before I knew it, we had already played two of our songs. How could time be so slow and yet so fast? I wanted to capture this moment and live it forever. I had never felt anything like this before. I wanted it all. The crowds. The fun. The pressure. My friends. It was perfect. But I didn't know this wasn't going to last forever. I didn't know or care that there was more to life than this. All I cared about was this moment and how for this moment alone, I felt on top of the world.



I didn't want her to go. But I always knew it would come down to this. In the back of my mind, I was ready for the day that she would dump me. I wasn't good enough, just lucky for a short period of time. I had just got home hanging out with some people who I was sure were going to be my new friends. Jeff and Brennon turned out to be really cool guys. In fact, Jeff and I were going to Warped Tour tomorrow and I barely knew him for more than a month. It was a good night. Nothing was going to ruin it. I finished up getting my ass kicked in a game of pool when my phone vibrated. My poorly pixelated green screen cell phone had a text. "We need to talk." My stomach rolled and did back flips while a knot made of nothing lodged itself in my throat. I knew what this was. She was my first girlfriend whom I had been exclusive with for 6 months. I thought I was in love. My lovesick heart didn't know any better. I was practically 18 and she was the only girl at the time willing to give me the time of day. I couldn't lose her. Was I really that undesirable? I took my time getting home. I knew this wouldn't be good. She only wanted to talk to me through instant messenger, a medium she was most comfortable talking through. It wasn't long until she told me with uncanny maturity that we were over. I begged her not to go, but she would reply coldly every time "We can still be friends." How can I just be friends with the only girl I've ever loved? If she doesn't like me, then no one will. I was certain she was the only one capable of getting me. For the first time in years, I bawled like a baby. I had never experienced this type of hurt before. Even though I was expecting her to some day break up with me, I was still grossly unprepared for the pain and trials of heartbreak. This hurt more than anything in the world. And it was only going to keep hurting for the rest of that year. It was my first and only relationship that I had. My teenage life was set on the day I had a girlfriend of my own...And now she was gone. In reality, we were just ignorant kids who would have never worked out, even if the circumstances were right.  But at the time, it felt like I had just earned a painful new scar that would never ever go away.