Laziness Wrapped Up! (Part 3)

Blegh!
It seems like I do not get a lot of time to collect my thoughts and record them these days!
I still plan on wrapping up the 3-part-ish update tonight though, so I guess it works out.

Here's a list that relates to the periods of online inactivity:

Things that keep me from updating my blog:
1. Family trips
2. Going to shows!!
3. Band practice!!
4. DotA
5. Procrastination/forgetfulness
6. My dying computer
7. Lack of pictures taken by me
8. Summer assignments for school

I have been busybusybusy lately with family trips!
I went to Bodega Bay with my big sister, Becky, her boyfriend, Ryan, my little brother, Matthew, and my parents.
The experience overall was nice, but cold in the weather department. I had a lot of catching up with my sister, and I told her all of my secrets during that trip. It feels like we've grown a lot closer due to that trip, and I'm glad it happened, even though it kept me from my musical duties in both of my bands.

Last week I went on another family trip to Union Valley Reservoir with my cousins Kyle and Stevie, my grandpa, and my Aunts Debbie and Lisa. That was a fun time too, but we were camping, so sleep was horrible. I got to somewhat catch up with Kyle during then. He lives in Turkey and the last time I've seen him was two years ago. Apparently it's an awesome place, I might go there next summer if I can find a cheap round trip ticket. I attempted to complete one of my summer assignments during the camping trip, but that didn't really follow through hahah. I wish I took more pictures at the lake.

Bodega Bay:


Union Valley:



Oh, and I was supposed to go on an awesome camping trip to Fort Bragg with my best friends Gilbert and Ian, but poor planning led to nothing happening at all. Pretty lame. I was so excited too, because Maria(Gilbert's ex, but now best friend, and my friend) was going to be there, and she was going to bring a lot of friends. Gilbert's been camping with them a couple of times this school year, and it seems like each trip has been amazing. I don't think I'll go in-depth on to why it was amazing in this blog, though, hahaha.

Also, I am leaving to Boston to visit family in Maine this weekend, and it should be an interesting time. I haven't been really in touch with my father's(not step father's) side of the family. I used to visit them yearly when I was a kid, and I never thought of calling or emailing because I didn't understand the importance of it at the time. But now, I am getting closer and closer to being an adult, and I'll need to be more responsible and make sure that my family ties are closer, no matter the physical distance.
On a side note: This year will be better than most of the others, since I'm going to see the Progressive Nation Tour in Boston with my dad, Uncle Craig, and my little brother, Curtis.

Okay, so that was really the recent event part of the update, I never really finished up writing about what happened before then.
Here goes.
If you didn't know already, I am quite the planner. My parents raised me that day, so there's less spontaneity, and less problems with scheduling.
So planning ahead has also led to my addiction with creating lists/goals.
Some lists that I've written lately have been things like details on my current songs' organization, things to do this summer/day, step-by-step processes on schoolwork, possible band names or track names/lyrical concepts, and colleges that I'll be considering.
Speaking of colleges, I have been highly considering three, all of which are in the state of California: Sacramento State University, San Jose State University, and San Diego State University. I'll talk more about college plans later.

One last thing to talk about before I go offline...
Lately, I have been noodling around with the idea of writing one of my favorite genres: math rock. In Bodega Bay I was messing around with some tapping progressions and jazzy chords that I haven't used before, mostly Major 9ths and such, and right now I have been working on a song that I'm planning on calling "...And I Am Awake".

I'm not the only one who has been feeling this math rock curiosity hahah, my band, A True Fixation, wants to go down that path a bit more as well. It will turn out interestingly with our new vocalist, Nat Lefkoff, who I have mentioned before.
I can't wait to come up with finished products!
More blog posts coming sooner than usual, I promise!
Hahahah

Laziness (Part 2)

(I meant to post this last night, but my internet was messing up right as I was about to publish the blog)

So yeah...regarding the whole elaborating on previous lists thing...I'm not going to do that
Way too lazy.
This entire summer has been full of laziness!
It's ridiculous!
Over a month ago was the last time I sat down and wrote something
Even then it was a much needed updated that could have been covered in small daily posts instead of one big hunk!
Oh well

I guess I'll make another list before I go on about summer so far...

Things that make my day better:
1. New music!
2. Going to a decent show
3. Pwning sum n00bz (lately it's been on DOTA)
4. Making faces at people while driving by (preferably with metal blasting out the car)
5. Long conversations that are worth it and memorable
6. Eating some epic food (or Carlos Juniez)
7. A cigarette.
8. Being with my friends!
9. Making someone genuinely smile
10. Meeting someone new and interesting(preferably a girl ;])


Well that was fun.
I originally wanted to do only five, but then I had more things that I wanted to share, and it took a while to decide which are the ten best things that make my day. Of course there are other things that would make my day, but these work 60% of the time, all the time.
So, since you've read this, I hope that you would try and make my day better as many times as possible(5, 6, and 10 especially), and I will try my best to improve your day as well.

Moving on.
During the end of the school year and a little bit into the summer I was training at a local shop. I was ecstatic because at the time I've applied to almost everywhere, called back, and received no job interview or consideration. I was ready to do my best, and to hopefully get the job once training was completed. For the month or so that I was training there, certain events occurred. I started receiving less and less hours of training, and the other trainees started receiving more. The people who hired me expected me to train at the same rate as the other trainees, even though their hours were almost double of mine. Sure, they did train faster, but I would have been near or at their level if my training wasn't cut short in the beginning of me being there. That's when the major change occurred, like on my third day, when everyone is still at the same level of learning.
Long story short, I didn't get the job. I guess it didn't work out, but I still stick to the fact that I was at a disadvantage for two reasons: less and less hours of training available to me, and the fact that I was a male(almost every guy who has applied there has not made the cut, even the hard working ones). They got to choose who they wanted to succeed, and I guess it wasn't me.

I've moved on from the whole deal a while ago, but the day that I got my check for the hours I've worked, one of my coworkers(who was my friend at the time, and she wouldn't have even thought about getting the job there if I didn't put the idea in her head) made me look bad by saying that I was making slanderous remarks online about my boss. What the fuck?? Are you really going out of your way to kiss that much ass and make me look like a total dick? Super.

So yeah, that was a good ol' time!
Fun shit.
Great way to find out who your true friends are.

Ok, I promise I'm going to finish up this lazy update tomorrow.
But before then, I'm going to add two more things:

One.
A contest held early this summer by the band Taking Back Sunday involved making a music video of the contestants' cover of one of the songs off of the new TBS album, which wasn't released yet.
All of us in A True Fixation decided to enter this contest, and we were able to record the song and shoot a sloppy video right before it ended. We didn't have a vocalist for the song, but our good friend, Beccah Murray(who also sang for The Silly Hat Brigade at the battle of the bands) filled in for the part on the last day of recording.
We ended up shooting the video at some guy's house, which has a big backyard with a coy pond, a small lake with an island on it, a small Golden Gate Bridge connecting the island to the rest of the backyard, and a really energetic and wet dog, whom we tried to run from to avoid his smelly wetness.
For the small amount of time that we put into the music video, I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome.

Here it is:



It is quite silly.

We didn't win the contest, but oh well. It was fucking fun.

I took a small amount of photos while recording...

Will's recording laptop.

Mckay's homemade sub kick for the bass drum.

Two.
Speaking of not having a vocalist, around the time of the contest, we have been auditioning vocalists, since we kicked out our original vocalist a while ago. Will was filling in on vocals/guitar, but he has wanted to focus more on guitar, and to get a full time vocalist. Everyone was in for that idea, and we have pretty much come up with the ideal performer to fill in the spot.
His name is Nat Lefkoff, I met him at a show I had to play for my friend JD's band, since their bassist bailed on them last-minute.
When he got onstage with his acoustic guitar and his voice, I was blown away by everything. His songwriting, his lyrics, his voice...everything. So we talked after the show, and exchanged contact info, etc. So after auditioning for our band, while in turn showing him our instrumental material, it was a mutual agreement to have him join A True Fixation. We can't wait to start anew with Nat as our frontman.
He is an amazing musician, and he will go far, with or without A True Fixation. That is without a doubt.
Here's his music page, check it out and add him: http://www.myspace.com/natlefkoffmusic

Two and a half.
Holy shit! I didn't even write about that show!
I need to write down good days more often.
Well
so yeah, I was to fill in on bass for them.
There were three songs and two days to get them down.
It ended up working out on such short notice, but I was only able to do two songs live, since the third we didn't even cover. Ugh, now that I think about it, that show was kind of embarrassing. The songwriting in that band...well...there's variety. Like, sticking with one route would be a better choice. The vocals could have used a lot of work as well. Nothing against him, he's pretty awesome of a person. Just not a vocalist I'd look for in a band.
The turnout was alright, there were a lot of cute girls there though.
Fuck, I wish I said something.
Oh well.

Anyways,
Goodnight.
I'll continue this stuff later

I am getting pretty lazy at this..(Part 1 I guess)

But I will do my best to continue and spill my thoughts onto this little blog of mine.

First things first, my close friend Ryan, who mostly inspired me to let out what's on my mind into a personal blogspot, uses lists in his blog, and I enjoy them very much. They are always interesting and new each post, and I've been thinking about how I'd like to that as well, but in my own way. He lists a few random things that are tied together, which is always fun to read about, but I would like to list things as well, but elaborate on the items in the post that succeeds it.
So I guess I'll start with one I've had on my mind for a while...
It's slightly negative, but I need to get things off of my chest

People who should shut the fuck up:
1. "Unique" individuals that sport Obama tee shirts
2. Jocks, in every shape and form
3. Straight-Edge Vegans
4. My Parents
5. "Free-Spirited" people (another euphemism for sluts/whores/skanks/etc.)

Woo! That felt great
Well, I haven't written anything in almost a month, so let's get cracking!
Near the end of school I was hit by constant surges of inspiration, musically that is, and I would be able to write at least one significant musical idea each day, up until the end of finals. It was a great period, because a good bulk of the material that I have been working on this summer is either derived from those earlier writings, or is the exact music that was created. I wanted to write about it then, but finals ate up what little spare time I had.
Speaking of finals, that went well on every level. Anatomy checked out, I finished the Sociology final the period before it was due, Honors PreCal was awesome considering it was multiple choice, and AP English Language and Composition was just a discussion on The Great Gastby. I received grade checks for all of my classes and received no C's so my grounding has been lifted and my semester GPA was a 3.71
A lot of my senior friends this year are leaving, one of the things I vaguely referred to in my first post, and it has been quite sad, for it was the last days of school that I would spend with them, and this will be the last summer that I will see most of them, and it is not a good thought for me. It makes me uncomfortable just realizing how all of those relationships will be for the most part nonexistant in a matter of months. I'll go over it in more detail on the follow-up of this blog.
Oh, and also
before the school year ended, there was a Battle of the Bands event, and I performed there with my band, A True Fixation. It was a very hot day, and I decided to not wear shoes and socks, so my feet ended up getting sunburnt by that night. To this day, I have a pantleg tanline on the top of my feet, both of which are uneven and oddly shaped. Wish I took a picture when it was intense... hahaha
I'd definitely put that in this blog, but what remains of the sunburn is not as big of a deal as it was that night.
Back to the day, it was really nice because I did not have to do anything all day, just set up the stage for the show. When it was our time to play, we went at it as usual, but it wasn't our best performance. Not at all. Johnny Vu's ska band, The Silly Hat Brigade(I've mentioned Johnny in my last post) won in the end, and they deserved it. They pretty much made love to the crowd and the crowd gave them its number for seconds. Well, something like that. I'm exaggerating of course, but I am very tired right now, so I am going to wrap this little update up with a few pictures from the battle.
Enjoy.


Jammin the bass.


The band, and the hella Mexican mural that PHS viewed as necessary to be erected on campus.


The Silly Hat Brigade, with Johnny on vocals(he has no shirt and he has the guitar).

I have been very busy.. update/rant on Anatomy

Finals have been eating up my time recently.
I've been wanting to post something up, because I want to dedicate more of my time writing literature, poems, lyrics, ideas, blog posts...anything.
The constant focus on bringing up grades to ensure a prosperous summer has prevented me from taking my time to write a blog post.
So I guess I will make one big update right now that sums up what has been going on lately, and I will continue with updates every other day or so.

I originally started this blog to somewhat document what I've been doing or feeling at the time of each post, and I have only posted one blog so far, so I haven't been very consistent with achieving that hahah. My first post doesn't exactly reflect that intention though. I wrote it because I have been feeling a big change come about and I wanted to express it by referring to the ideas that I have had about the moon when I was younger, when I lived in Davis. I might plan on elaborating on that story later, but I'll just say right now that the made-up story I had regarding the moon used to be pretty straightforward and childish, but over time it has shone more meaning than intended. I enjoy thinking about the concept of the moon's relation to the sun. Just throwing that out there.

So, to the update..
School has been pretty heavy, and it will be over in less than two weeks. It would be easier if I didn't have Physiology/Anatomy. The teacher is a fine example of incompetence. EVERY worksheet has at least one major spelling or grammatical error. He RARELY teaches the class on important concepts to memorize/understand directly, instead, he just hands out said worksheets and labs and expects the students to somehow know exactly what to do and how to do it. If a legitimate question is asked, it is either dismissed, ignored(for he is partially deaf), or responded to with "DIDN'T WE GO OVER THIS ALREADY?!", or "If you read the instructions, it explains it!", and sometimes he even adds on "...Dumbass!". Thanks, Mr. C---(last name withheld), you really helped me understand what the hell we're doing! Some the instructions on the recycled worksheets(he uses the same ones each year without the revisions that are desperately needed) are impossible, or have the wrong reference pages written(again..THANKS!). He uses powerpoints in replacement of lectures, and he expects us to copy down specific sections of his notes(endless amounts of sections, might I add), which is tolerable I guess, but wait...he makes us retype ALL of them to be graded at the end of the grading period for our work binder. Speaking of the work binder, he has us include every worksheet we've ever done for that grading period to be entered into that binder, as if we keep track of every "busy work" scrap of paper that he feeds to us(multiple worksheets daily, just to add confusion and frustration). Included with said worksheets and notes are the labs(some labs are relevant to the subject though, which suprises me), coloring sheets(one of the biggest wastes of time that I have ever seen), and random shit like 100 keys, learning objectives, blah blah blah. OH, and students get marked off if they don't include pictures in their notes and random shit, as if pictures found off of the internet show how much a student understands about Anatomy. The due dates are sometimes impossible, the computers provide almost never work and they run slowly(sometimes the class would be half over by the time the laptop has loaded completely), and the tests are hard as fuck because the teacher hasn't properly prepared the class and some of the questions weren't even covered in the whole chapter(Fuck yeah! I love suprise questions! They make my day more enjoyable.). All in all, Anatomy sucks, don't ever take it at Pioneer High School, unless you buy my work binder off of me, and in that case you'll have an easy school year. It doesn't count as a lab science (which is recommended for colleges), but instead it is an elective. I could have taken Beginner's Piano, which is an art, and it would have looked better on my college transcript AND it would have been an easy A.

Blegh. I fucking hate Anatomy.
It's fucking up my summer; my parents have this requirement of no C's or lower on my grades, as in B's and A's ONLY. Anatomy has made it virtually impossible to meet that requirement because I spend ALL of my homework time on that class and still perform at a high C, low B level. Spending all of my time on that class has led to lowered grades in other tough, but legitimate courses, such as Honors PreCalculus and Advanced Placement English Language/Composition. Fortunately I have been able to make up those grades, but according to Mr. C---, it would be impossible for me to bring up my semester grade to a B, even though this trimester I have an A. Sure, I did receive two C's last two trimesters, but if all of the percentages were added up and the mean percentage was the final grade, I would reach a B, but no, Mr. C--- does his grades differently than all of the competent and successful teachers. Fucking great.

I'm going to complete this update another day, just writing about this one class is pissing me the fuck off.

P.S. I just realized how different this post is from my first one...ah shit. Well I will bitch and moan more in the future..stay tuned! Woo!


This isn't even the beginning of my workload. This sucks. Forever.

Here's a more accurate depiction of Anatomy, teacher included, courtesy of Johnny Vu



His larger, original post may be seen here: http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/106/l_319cbe740f2f4d6eb7e723a188f230b0.jpg

Restlessness

It has had the best of me tonight.
I have been unable to achieve this state for quite some time. There has been nights where succumbing to a state of sleep was not an option. The inability to focus on what was before me during the day would lead to my completion of tasks to be held only during the night. Although in those times, the execution of fulfilling my assignments was crucial to my nighttime agenda, exhaustion has overcome me on almost every occasion. Tonight was a rare occurrence, I was able to stay attentive, but unfortunately, there were no significant deadlines to meet; my consciousness lacked its usual importance. Instead of stress flowing through me, the only thing that arose was a stream of endless thoughts. I have been needing to let them out lately.
At this point in my life, I feel like I am able to appreciate everything that has come my way. The stresses and struggles of family life, friendships, and my career path have made me stronger, and the same could be said about the support that I have received. Growth of myself and my friends becomes apparent each passing day; I wish to not let that end. I will do anything to keep the ties that I have obtained, which have been between those special to me, and those who have taught me the importance of the time that we have been given. This year is coming to an end, and though I will miss it dearly, new memories will be forged over time, and this growth that has come about will continue.



I saw the moon tonight, his light held supremacy over the sky, as if he was the only being in existence. He gazed upon the world blankly, for there was no one to watch him shine. Tonight I was his witness, whether he realized it or not. The dreamer was not alone.