Pokemon White, Day 4

Something I forgot to mention on Day 3: There was an abundant amount of Pokemon Rangers at Pinwheel Forest cosplaying as Carmen Sandiego. I didn't know Carmen liked giving out berries after Pokemon battles...

Anyway, I get out of the forest through the terminal. On the other end, I was stunned at how huge Skyarrow Bridge is. It feels bigger than all the towns/cities/paths I've traveled so far combined. There's just no way I could have not noticed this bridge from the forest, or from Nuvema for that matter. Skyarrow expands and extends all the way to Castelia City, the dark urban skyline becoming more visible as I exhaustingly walk closer to it. The air around it just feels unwelcoming to me...

When I arrive in Castelia, I feel like I'm already lost in all the tall towers, the docks, and the rushing people everywhere. Down a couple of the streets, there are these men and women in suits and briefcases that just run around. I try not to walk in their path, but they keep coming and avoiding me at the last possible second. After a while, I just kind of give up and make a game out of it, try to see how long I can delay them.

Just out of spite. o _o

Later, I find this break dancer, Mickey, that's just busting moves left and right. I go up to compliment him and instead he challenges me to a Pokemon battle with his Pansage. After my win, he expresses interest in getting a dance crew but can't find people to do it and then he just almost shrugs and continues dancing. Shame he can't find anyone.

I walk further down the city to find an alleyway to try to find my way back to the Pokemon Center and, all of the sudden, this guy in a suit pops out from behind a dumpster and flashes me! ... By flash, I mean he surprised me, then gave me the TM Flash, then went back into his hiding place...

Then, I find Mickey again down the street... Or at least an exact replica of Mickey. He has the same clothes, hair style, skin color, attitude, and even the dance moves as Mickey. I thought maybe he was a relative of Mickey's, so I go up and ask. The replica's name is Edmond and he immediately challenges me to a Pokemon battle with his Panpour. After another win, I tell him about Mickey by the fountain place, but, before I could ask about their relative status, he acts like he never heard of him before and thanks me and leaves for the fountain.

I want to say they're the same person and that they are just trying to trick the newcomer in their city...

I walk to one of the docks and find someone in a trench coat who says they can help evolve the elemental monkey Pokemon with the use of his evolution stones... Honestly, he could've been telling the truth, but I just back away slowly and run for dear life in the other direction. How else am I supposed to react to that? I mean seriously...

After abandoning the thought of being a creep magnet, I walk further down the street to heal my Pokemon. It was only then did I notice that there was some ruckus on the docks in front of the Pokemon Center. A female with thick purple hair comes up to me and asks if I've seen any Team Plasma Grunts anywhere. Then I notice Bianca, following up behind her, all upset. Apparently, the Munna that she caught in the Dreamyard was stolen.

To see Bianca in shambles like that... I felt bad for her, and I worry about her. This incident only confirmed my suspicion that she might not handle this independence from being sheltered for so long...

Burgh enters from around the corner and notices the us. He greets the purple-haired woman, Iris, as a good friend and asks about the situation. Burgh then takes power into his own hands and walks off to the direction of where some Plasma Grunts were last seen.

I would've followed right after, but then I noticed a familiar face further down the docks... Raymond was also a street dancer who looked eerily similar to his dancing counterparts. After I defeat his Pansear, I mention the other two dancers I've met and immediately he thanks me and runs off in the direction of the fountain.

Curious, I decide to follow him to the plaza. I was stunned to find them. Three dancers moving robotically in the same way, mimicking each others moves in a very fluid way. They could have been clones. Mickey notices me gazing at them and thanks me for finding them, so much that he gives me an amulet coin. They turned out to be really nice friends...

Which reminded me that I need to find Burgh.

After retracing my steps back to Iris and Bianca's location, I find Burgh just down the street. I meet up with him and he says that the Grunts took off in the direction of the Gym. We quickly follow the trail and find grunts encircling a building right across the street from the Gym.

Burgh and I confront the pale minions and battle them. Burgh fights of two Grunts at once, while I quickly defeat the remaining Grunt's Sandiles. After our win, the Grunts cower back into the building and we follow them, only to be greeted by the preacher from Accumula. Ghetsis is his name, or at least that is what the Sage, the one from Pinwheel Forest, calls him. That creepy guy preaches more about why Pokemon should not be in the control of humans and Burgh makes his rebuttal. After their back and forth, Ghetsis returns Munna to me and like that, they all disappear.

After their leave, Bianca and Iris come rushing in through the doors to help. Bianca is overjoyed when I return Munna back to her. Bianca promises to not only take better care of her Pokemon, but to become stronger as a trainer and a person so that she can put up a fight. Iris acknowledges Bianca's efforts and decides to whisk her out of the building to go train and do girl stuff, leaving me with Burgh.

Burgh turns to me and pretty much says that he couldn't wait to battle me in the Gym. Then he walks away, leaving me in control of what to do.

So much has happened today, I'm just about ready to call it a day.

Pokemon Roster, Day 4:

• Pearl, Dewott, Level 23
• Lightning, Blitzle, Level 23
• Lily, Petilil, Level 23
• Trebuchet, Drilbur, Level 23
• Chester, Tranquill, Level 21

Who knows where those evolutionary stones have been... I'm sure the dance crew would be happy to get their hands on those stones...

It Is In The Writing

Fall Quarter Update

I thought Fall Quarter was fine and exceptional. I met new friends, had amazing adventures, and did well in most of my classes.

However, one of my teachers didn't think of it that way, what with my grade in his class. The Poverty class that I took last quarter--the one where I had to go out of my way to climb cardiac hill just do to homework at that specific computer lab, the one where the teacher belittles our intelligence and competence to understanding the material on a regular basis, the one where I admittedly refused to attend some classes because of these above reasons... that class, decided to drop my GPA last quarter.

So, today I went to go to see an advisor. However, before I went into the college office, I went to the mailbox next door to check for junk mail. Instead, what I found was a christmas card from my friend, Rachel. It was probably the christmas card she originally sent before I told her my other address. The card has a decorated tree on the front with a shiny and textured silver border around it. On the inside of it, she wrote in her pretty cursive handwriting:

Did you know?

R.H. Macy failed 7 times before his store in New York caught on. English novelist John Geasey got 753 refection slips before he published 564 books. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs. Don't worry about failure, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.

--Published in the Wall Street Journal--

I thought this seemed really fitting and almost even cosmic. Happening to just pick this letter up from the mailbox that I wasn't even going to check (expecting to have junk mail if anything seeing as I already checked it the day before) and to have those words in the christmas card (instead of just an ordinary "seasons greetings!" message) can only be described as an act of fate, as a beacon of good tidings to come.

I was recommended to ask for Ursula by everyone in Kresge from what it seems, so I sat down with her. She was very nice about everything and not even the slightest bit condescending. I handed her my paperwork and she felt that I knew what I was doing and understood that that class was a fluke. She recognized that I understood how things worked and she told me what to do to get my GPA back up and the best way to do it. She even caught something that I hadn't noticed on my transcript, a general ed requirement that I didn't satisfy yet before transfer because of its recent addition into the portal, and she fixed it so that I didn't have to fulfill that requirement...

Basically, Ursula is amazing. She even has a little pen holder on her desk in the shape of Ursula the sea witch from The Little Mermaid.

So now, with my grief and frustration behind me and with these serendipitous words of wisdom I obtained, I feel more determined to work even harder now!

Here's to better grades this next quarter!

Keep Moving Forward

So I’m trying to come up with a future plan. For a long time, I’ve been putting it off, waiting for something to come across my view and entice me to pursue it.

That hasn’t happened yet… Until now.

When I declared my major, I had the thought in mind that, even though I might not end up in that field, it was still a worthwhile major because it can be applied in any career path I chose. Logistically, it made sense.

Then I go into my intermediate accounting class one day. Bob Sheperd, the teach, had a firm come into class one day, Novoco, to present what their practice is about. They explained a normal day for workers as well as benefits and perks. It all seemed so glamorous, but the more they talked the more I felt like I was unprepared for everything. This feeling of ill-preparedness grew when Meet the Firms, an event for econ and business related majors to 'meet the firms' on campus in a formal setting, came closer.

Had I gone to that fair, I would’ve made a fool of myself. I didn’t have a prepared resume, cover letter, references, heck I didn’t have any “formal attire” to speak of. I missed out on a great opportunity that would’ve moved me forward in life.

Not again.

I expressed these feelings with Kaylah and I felt stupid for having the plan I had in the first place. The plan I had ensured that I’d graduate on time and have a background of accounting without it applied to my major. So, Kaylah and I tweaked the plan a little.

Original Plan:

Have an Economics major, but take the Accounting classes along with Econ upper division courses to graduate on time (Spring 2011). Having the Accounting background would allow me to take the CPA independently and apply to jobs, blindly, with that on my resume.

New (Smarter) Plan:

Declare a Business Management Economics major, (Economics + Accounting classes I planned to take already + 3 extra classes), and prepare for Meet the Firms during Winter and Spring quarters. The change in majors would mean I’d have to stay an extra quarter, (graduate in Fall 2011). Hopefully, I would get accepted for an internship over summer during the winter MTF and create a name for myself to go to MTF, again, but for a full time job during the busy season upon graduation.

Intense, right? It's odd that I'm now actually yearning toward something that gets me out of this institution I've been in since I could remember. The more I think on it, the more it feels like I'm losing a part of myself but at the same time shooting toward something just as good. Sitting in Bob's class or Alan's TA section helped me realize that I'm ready to move on.

It's about time to do all the things I want to do in my life anyway. No more complacency. Future is now!

Trusting the Tiger

Blog No. WHATEV: Kayaking

An excerpt of JT’s journey as notated by JT:

…So it came to be that I got on the road late on a Saturday to once again travel this land, the destination: The college of Sai-err... Right, UC Santa Cruz... I didn't make it, not with my sagging eyes; I pulled along a small stream and rested awhile letting the cool air rush past me in the night. As the sun chased the night, hinting at its presence with a small horizonal glow, I once again rose and continued my journey finding the horse I sought... my multi-day adventure was just beginning... but finally, I got to sleep. The story continues now however, and as such I must bid you goodbye oh souls of the net. Until our paths next cross, fair-well and peace be upon your soul!

Guess who the horse is.

JT said he was going to arrive at a late hour, so I stayed up… Little did I know that he would pull over to the side of the road and snooze for a couple of hours and then arrive on campus at six in the morning!

After I gave him directions to the parking garage, I gave him a huge hug and walked him to my apartment, where the both of us plopped down on my bed to sleep. His phone kept going off, so I didn’t sleep the entire time. JT, however, the sleeping beauty that he is, slept through his most annoying alarms. I had to climb over him and fall off the bed to turn off his phone. When I returned to the bed, however, I find that he laid fully onto his back, taking up the bed. Trying to salvage some sleep, I just decided to lay on JT and close my eyes for the following three hours.

At noon, I woke up with JT snoring at my face, so I slowly got out of bed to log online. I talked with Dustin for awhile when I saw the time. I wanted to wake JT up at a reasonable hour, somewhere between a decent night’s rest and enough daylight time before our kayaking class. So, I took a brief shower and made some coffee to stall for some time while JT slept. I woke him up at 1:30 with much difficulty.

We walked around downtown for a few hours. We went into the Ohm Gallery, the lantern store for those not privy. JT took interest at all the spiritual stuff and the wall scrolls with quotes on them. We were in that store for awhile, JT looked for some oriental clothing, and I observed. So, pretty much a normal shopping day with anyone I shop with, which was odd because I didn’t expect it to be that similar when I was with JT.

We also walked into Serpent’s Kiss, the spiritual store with a bunch of stones, scents, and other miscellaneous Wiccan stuff. He had walked in with something in mind, something that was made of amethyst or the like. I just looked at pendants with other people in mind.

I led him to Gigi’s, where I introduced him to the Blondie. There, we decided to eat some lunch. Kaylah walked out and talked with us for a few minutes. The tallest person I know and the second shortest person I know in one sitting. I had brought up Piper’s excursion with alcohol on her birthday, where Piper described the Midori drink to Kaylah. Midori seemed the most appealing to her and asked me to relay the message to JT to bring her some. I told her that the drink was in the trunk of JT’s car and she got excited.

Kaylah was trying to give us directions, but she didn’t exactly know where to find the kayaking place. After a few texts and some Blonde confusion, I found out that the place we were to meet everyone was on the wharf by the boardwalk, which I thought it was all along.

~

During most of our extended conversation, JT explains that there are different levels of wants. There’s the “passionate” level of want, and the “semi-interested” level of want. Those who want things on a “passionate” kind of level will stop at nothing to get what they desire, despite any obstacles they may face. Those who want on a “semi-interested” level will allow any obstacle as an excuse of getting out of it. These people will find themselves putting up roadblocks for various reasons. In their choice of not going through with their desires, they choose what they think they should be saying as an excuse for not following through.

In the case of Piper, as JT puts it, is that she chose to victimize herself by putting up roadblocks that prevent her from making her desired choice. Although this probably wasn’t intentional, she had tried to put JT’s and my feelings at ease when she complained that she was being held back instead of going with JT on this trip. In the case of Kaylah, if she really wanted to try Midori in the first place, she wouldn’t have easily let us go like that and had us over to hang out instead of deciding to go to bed early. With JT’s logic, I could just as easily take to face that everyone I invited to visit me during the quarter didn’t have a strong enough desire to come over in the first place…

I agree to a point.

While it may be true that if Piper really wanted to go to Santa Cruz with JT, she could’ve just as easily did everything in her power to ignore the complaints. However, coming from a different perspective, Piper would see “being tied down by excuses” as meeting and prioritizing obligations by placing other people’s needs and wants before her own. Kaylah, although she expressed extreme interest to try the Midori, she decided to put herself above everything else that night to try and be healthier. To everyone else, I don’t know. Maybe they don’t intend on visiting me anytime soon, but they could just as easily be prioritizing their needs over their wants and leave me in the dark as a result.

To my conclusion, I’ve decided to stop bugging everyone about coming to visit. They know they have a spot on my bed if they want to sleep over, but I’m not going to push them anymore. If they really wanted to come over, they would’ve done so already…

We choose to do everything or nothing, whether or not we see it… Like my unconscious choice of not telling my mom that I planned to go kayaking with JT off the Santa Cruz Wharf.

It wouldn’t have been a huge deal if I didn’t know how to swim.

Admittedly, JT questioned my logic for going through with it. Basically, I felt that I was safe, so long as I had someone with me who knew his way around the water, (hence, with JT’s sailing experience and swimming capabilities, I was in the safest hands possible). Of course, I had asked my CA, Kim, to see if I needed any swimming or ocean experience, to which she replied, “No, I don’t think so. If it did, I wouldn’t be planning this event because I’m super afraid of the ocean!” So I wasn’t alone.

“So you trust me?” JT said, after explaining my logic. “Well, you know this shows that I am trustworthy.”

I chuckled. His statement came from a previous conversation of ours about trust. “I chose to trust you.” I said.

I don’t make this kind of decision lightly.

After walking and talking on the wharf, JT and I arrived at our checkpoint, where we stashed our stuff and put on our wet suits and life vests. After our quick tutorial about paddling and worse case scenarios, (which didn’t comfort me at all), JT and I walked down to the kayak. I sat down in front, while JT held control of the rudder in the back.

It felt so weird. I didn’t like feeling that I wasn’t on solid ground. I felt my legs and back tense up. However, after paddling for awhile and a few dozen assurances from JT, I started getting the hang of it. In fact, after a few donuts in the water, I felt the nervousness slip away. This was the most spontaneous and excited I felt in a long time! It didn’t even bother me that JT, predictably, steered us numerous times to collide with the other kayaks to test my bravery.

JT’s foot pedals, the ones that steered the kayak, were bothering him. Being the tall person that he is, his feet would fall asleep whenever he concentrated on the foot work. So I got a little nervous when he decided to bring up the rudder, leaving us to steer manually with the paddles for the rest of the time.

There was another two person kayak that kept following us. I recognized them from around Kresge East, but I didn’t know their names. These guys kept asking for a race to the point where they taunted us. Taunted JT.

Taunting JT? Not a good idea.

So we raced a few times. JT kept repeating behind me, “Remember: strong, smooth strokes! Gain that momentum!” They unleashed the tiger. We lost one race, but we won a few more.

In between bravery highs and freaking out moments, we kayaked around a huge bed of kelp and seaweed. One of the kayaking instructors threw a snail at us. The snail landed in the water, which splashed in my face. I grabbed the snail, which had smaller snails riding on the back of it, and handed it to JT. The snail rode with us the rest of the trip.

We also saw a baby otter lying on the mother otter’s stomach and a head of a sea lion poking out of the water. The sea lion was so close, we almost crashed into it. It was those kinds of moments I wished I had invested in a waterproof camera.

Then, we kayaked further out to see where the waves got rougher. The surfers were present in partaking to these waves closer to the rocky shore. We sailed along, one wave after another raising our kayak and splashing back down as it passed. JT kept asking how I was doing the entire time, and I kept assuring him that I was okay. A few more strokes and we rowed to the big rock, where we saw a bunch of lazy, migratory sea lions piling on top of each other. There were brown ones and blonde ones. They were so cute! I was glad that we went out of the way to see them.

On the ride back, we had the option of sailing back depending on how strong the wind was. The instructors had expected the winds to die down, but the winds did just the opposite. I bungeed my paddle to the kayak and pulled out the sail. I pretty much followed everyone else’s lead in reigning in the wind. JT kept instructing from behind, “Brace yourself with the sail! Try and steer the wind in our direction!” With no rudder, JT steered us using brute force against the increasing waves. The entire time we were sailing, I felt like the kayak would tip over at any minute. JT warned me of this from the get go. So, as uncomfortable I was clenching the sail in both my hands, I tried to level myself into a complacent balance as we raced across the waves back to the pier.

When we arrived back at the dock, JT felt that he could rock and tip the kayak back and forth, seeing as he did plenty of that once the wind died down. I felt impressed that I could balance myself that well, especially after JT remarked about how well I was doing. After we helped put all the equipment back, JT and I grabbed a couple of burritos and retired back at my place.

I offered a few DVD’s to watch. He picked out Star Trek just so that he can trash it to pieces while I was watching. I wanted to see how “bad” it was, so I agreed.

~

Movie Review: Star Trek

It was bad.

I’m by no means a Trekkie, but from what back story I know, even I agreed this movie was bad.

There was no room for character growth and it seemed that the story line was based off of a million different impossibilities at once, (to which JT pointed out every single one). Kirk, after a bar fight, ends up being called to the academy among all the other space cadets. This Kirk is a jerk; a stereotypical, boob-grabbing, hiding-in-my-tightie-whities-under-the-bed type of jerk. Then there was a twist in the story: Spock and Aurora being romantically entangled. I didn’t expect that one. I thought Spock had tried to become an emotionless being like the rest of his people. What about Aurora? I thought she was supposed to be romantically entangled with Kirk later down the line. I got so confused, so I just thought that, whatever the writer’s were doing, they weren’t going to stay with any original story arc. It’s something I can allow if they can do it well.

However, it got to a point in the movie where I said it was enough. After Kirk gets exiled onto a frozen ice planet, running away from big, bigger, biggest monsters, in comes the real Spock. The old Spock from the TV series. After hearing the detail as to why he was there, (something about red matter, black holes, Rimulon being destroyed, and time travel), I saw that the writers had to have created a story feasible enough to include as much of Leonard Nimoy in the movie as possible.

It reminded me of the Transformer movies in so many ways. To my surprise, JT showed me an internet review which revealed that both the Transformer and Star Trek movies were written by the same writers.

The only thing I could see redeeming this movie was the stellar visual effects. They show so much potential! But with no redeemable characters, a nonsense storyline filled with fate and destiny, and nothing memorable to show for the plot and villain, the effects just lessens the blow of an overall horrible movie.

My Final Review: 1 Out of 5 Thumbs Up –> This was NOT my mom’s Star Trek.

~

In the end of it all, I semi-confronted JT because I felt uncomfortable with making decisions on the trip that he was supposed to have. I wanted to say, “You’re the guest, you make the decisions.”

But, as if he read my mind, he preemptively said, “I made my choices. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t choose to come here, right?” Aww… “I came here for your punk ass, didn’t I?”

I guess only fire can bend metal. But then again, I don’t think I would have it any other way.

The Love Shack

Lost Blog 4: April Visit

On a recent trip to Sacramento, we celebrated my nephew, Lennox’s, birthday. The venue, of course, was Chuck E Cheese. It seems to be a tradition in the family that started with my sister to have the kid’s birthdays have some big production to involve everyone crawling out of the woodwork.

Audrey’s memories of childhood birthdays were always the block party setup. When my mom lived in an apartment across the street from the park, she would orchestrate some large party that would sometimes involve the entire building, where the kids played in the park and the parents congregated by the BBQ. It seemed like the way to do it. After my mom moved, however, we ended up living in the condo on Florin, a bigger home they moved into for me.

At Lennox’s party, I saw a bunch of my relatives that I haven’t seen since my last family reunion event… Which I think was Audrey’s wedding… Anyway, it still felt weird. I remember having my birthdays at the same kind of place, where I just goofed around and enjoyed myself in the games. Now that I have graduated into adulthood, I walked amongst the crew behind the scenes, (setting tables, watching kids, socializing with adults), in other words, not my usual forte. So much has changed, like the original 3 children, (me, my cousin Ruben, and Audrey), had grown and more children have arrived. Ruben is off serving the country, I’m off at college, and my sister is now the mom. The new generation of adults is formed.

I wouldn’t be this nostalgic at all if I wasn’t reminded of it with every aunt, uncle, family friend, and child kept reminding me of it. They always bring up how small and puny I was, then how much I grew and filled out, and now how I’ve grown and lost weight. I don’t really feel it. I’ve been in school for as long as I can remember, doing the same kind of thing. No big deal to me.

So I tried to stay away from the family as much as I could. The one sure fire way to do this was preoccupy myself with a job I was legendary for: Collecting tickets. My mom ordered the family pack of tokens, a great number of which was given to me to spend wherever the tickets were. I hopped back and forth between machines, playing the game of chance and observing jackpots up until the point I got a few of my own. By the end of the day, I landed 2423 tickets.

After the party, I was supposed to meet up with Dustin somewhere unbeknownst to me. I figured out he was at a Firestone pretty close by, so I said for him to come and pick me up. After some phone calls and confusion, I waved my family goodbye and proceeded to wait for Dustin on the curb. I decided to walk down the road to see where I was in relation to the Sunrise Mall. It turns out that the Firestone where Dustin was at was literally in the same parking lot as the Chuck E Cheese. I got the phone call of his arrival, he was at the Chuck E Cheese. We walked across the parking lot and hugged each other upon our intersection point.

We got into the car and drove to Dustin’s sister’s house. His dad and his brother were there fixing up a truck while the sister lounged on the couch in the garage. Apparently I made the brother jealous because I had my goatee. Looking at the guys, there was the dad with a full beard, Dustin with a stubbly beard, me with my goatee, and the brother, bare. Dustin’s family kind of reminded me of some old neighbors I hung out with during my youth at 3613.

Rex needed something at the Autozone, so Dustin drove the four of us on a quick trip. Dustin and I hung out in the car while Rex and Alex went inside. Dustin and I hung out and talked about random things. We observed a guy with a Jafar goatee messing with his cell phone. We joked about how he might be sexting, an unlimited sexting plan, the usual.

After that trip, Dustin and I went to Folsom and saw Patric’s family. They fed us really good lasagna and salad, Dustin consuming twice as much as I had. Then, Dustin took a shower while I trolled around on their computer. I started Tumbling on Dustin’s account when he walked in with only a towel. I typed up the blog, “Jafar, Up to No Good” where Dustin read parts of it over my shoulder, obliviously unaware it was his account.

~

We were meeting a few of their friends at the Lollicup in Roseville to watch the talent show. My previous Lollicup experience didn’t turn out to well. It was when Taka took us on the day of a concert and I almost choked on boba in the tea. However, I wanted to go to the talent show because I remembered my friends, the Matutis clan, had performed here as well and I wanted to see their competitors. Last time, I had the strawberry milk tea, which was okay but the boba threw off the taste. This time around, I tried an almond milk tea without boba. It was very good, considering it was just almond and milk.

Dustin, Patric, and I were waiting until Charlene, Valerie, Jennifer, and Rachel arrive. Char and Val are sisters, Jen and Rachel are sisters, but they are all related, (Filipino families, go figure). I met Char and Val on a number of occasions, but Jen and Rachel were new. They all seemed pretty cool. Jen and Rachel seemed as much of a spaz as Char, so it was all good.

Charlene’s performance was pretty good. She sang a few songs on the keyboard while Valerie took a bunch of photos.

There was a girl, Sam, who needed to be egged on by the entire establishment to go and perform. She did an original poetry reading. You could tell she was nervous because she started sputtering her words until they came like a barrage of bullets in your face. I couldn’t get most of the words, unfortunately.

Then there were these three singers, Mona, Jenna, and… (forgetting name)… Francis Bacon. The three of them did some amazing songs and blended harmonies really well. I was impressed by Jenna, leading the group with her singing and piano playing. She also ended up doing piano for another guy… (forgetting name)… Moshark… And they did some renditions of popular songs. Hell, she did “I’m Yours” with him on guitar.

The rest of the night went pretty much like that. We enjoyed each other’s company and helped clean up after the talent show was all done. More of Dustin’s and Patric’s friends arrived near the end of the shindig. We all started goofing around in the parking lot, dancing, cuddling up to Dustin’s bosoms, the usual. Then we all started to leave to our cars, all three of them parked up right next to each other. Somehow, it ended up being crazy to the point where the three cars rolled down their windows and started blasting Kelly Clarkson on the radio. It was fan-frikken-tastic. XD

The three of us then started driving out of Roseville. Patric, in the backseat, started talking about their Jackson Rancheria weekend where Matt needed to go really bad while they were driving to the point where Matt grabbed an empty can of soda and a pillow and just peed in front of everyone. Patric, the lovely sheep that he is, started to do the same thing. He couldn’t get the pillow just right and apparently it had hurt because he was yelling very loudly. He didn’t go through with it, not that I wanted him to in the first place…

Then Love Shack played on the radio while we were at an intersection. Dustin and I sung out the lyrics, but apparently Patric didn’t recognize the song. What he ended up doing was rolling down his window and yelling at a car next to us. He was yelling, “Hey! Love Shack is on the radio! Hey why are you ignoring me!?” Dustin drove past them as fast as he could after that. XD

We decided to pick up Matt, so we drove to his place and knocked on his window. He was hungry so we decided to go to In n Out, (after Patric took a quick trip to the bathroom of course). Matt was always one to complain about his lactose intolerance, but, for some odd reason, he always ends up with the milkshakes. We hung out for an hour, talking about random stuff, force feeding each other’s food, and making Kirby faces on the paper ketchup cups. It got to a late hour where I needed to go home.

At the apartment, Matt gave me a wonderful back massage. I usually don’t let anyone do anything to my back, but I made an exception because, in my mind, I justified it as something that was long overdue. However, it had gotten so comfortable that I almost fell forward into the street. Then, they showed me this funny video on Patric’s iPhone of how Abraham Lincoln’s murder was justified in the end. I would’ve never guessed that Abe was so gangster to the point of insanity. XP

After an awkward hug, (from the front, behind, and below), I said my farewell… Until Dustin decided to use the bathroom. We snuck into my apartment where it was all dark but dimly lit by night lights. I had to take Dustin by the hand and show him the bathroom. After that, another awkward hug ensued, and then, as they were walking out, Patric dropped his pants and waddled outside to the car… Oh what the neighbors must think… And I was getting to like them, too. XD

The Traveling Monk

Lost Blog 1: Good

I was walking home from Cowell dining hall the other day, thinking for some reason that I was overdue for something odd to happen. Indeed, as odd as I thought of it, it happened.

Walking through the path of pink trees and the breeze of pink petals, I bumped into a squinty eyed bald man wearing red and orange robes, carrying a large bag over his shoulder and wheeling a large suitcase. He walked up to me and asked if I were a student here.

No, I’m backpacking through Europe and took a wrong turn at the Coliseum. “Why yes, I am.”

“Oh okay, I’m glad I ran into you. I’m a traveling monk on a mission to spread the word of enlightenment.”

The monk handed me a thick orange book with a picture of a chariot on the front. Bhagavad Gita: As It Is as it’s titled. It had a picture of someone resembling Ghandi on the back, which I assume to be the author.

“I sense some imbalance in your life,” the monk declared, “Might I ask what is wrong?”

Nosy bald stranger… “I guess I lack sleep. I am a student after all!” I chuckled dryly.

“Minor troubles sometimes mask even deeper struggles you have not yet recognized.”

“What do you mean?”

He talked a little about how everything around us and everything we do is connected on an abstract level. I listened attentively and began wondering why I had this bitter mood. No one notices it on the surface, but sometimes I carry around a bitter companion, a critic, an unwanted shoulder angel in my head… (I’m not crazy I swear!) But I questioned in my mind whether or not I was a good person to let these thoughts sneak through.

But before I reflected on the subject, the monk surprised me: “You seem like a good person.”

“Really? Even though I seemed bitter and cranky?” I gave a wry smile.

“Goodness isn’t decided on what we say or do, but on what drives us to do them.”

With that, I reached in my left pocket. The only bill I have is a 20. Are you seriously giving that away? “Here.”

“Why thank you! I’m glad I ran into you today.” The monk smiled.

He was probably going to ask for a donation anyway. “Well, it seems you have a long way to go, don’t you?” I chuckled, awkwardly, swatting my hand above my shoulder.

I looked at the book some more and decided to hand it back, but the monk refused, “Keep it. Consider it my thanks.”

And with that, I took his hand and shook it.

“Good luck on your journey.”

Am I that good person?

Epic Lights and Silhouettes

Blog No. 7c: Winter Dreamscapes Part III

Part 3. Winter Dreamscapes. This one's a doozy. Enjoy.

*Northern Lights and Silhouettes*

I look down at my usual checkerboard sequence, waiting what would happen. I felt a movement from underneath the checkerboard, feeling a sudden gust as the checkerboard flew upward toward my face from my hands.

I fell backward to see darkness in front of me. I was somehow luminescent in this dream because I could see myself perfectly as I sat up.

After waiting another second, a hypnotic, electronically produced sound resonated in front of me in lieu with a pair of illuminating green lightning bolts. The bolts felt like they were being stretched in front of me, as suggested by the sound of an electronic didgeridoo. The bolt stretched until the bolt immediately shrunk and died.

Clap! A silhouette appeared in front of a green light illuminating against a stage screen. The green spot light did not cover the entire screen, but only a section of it. The silhouette was of a bassist, standing behind the screen. From his body structure, I somehow translated this silhouette to be my friend, Eric, from high school, seeing as he sported a faux hawk and had massive arms. Low sounds that matched the hypnotic didgeridoo droned from behind that screen. It was odd because his base had looked like an upright bass, only not with a thick body so that the tall bass can double as an over the shoulder electric bass, which he still played with the upright bow.

Another pair of lightning bolts, purple this time, started stretching in front of the screen. Clap! Like an elastic band, a purple spot light illuminated only part of the screen, revealing a skinnier, taller silhouette with long hair and a rock guitar. He looked like Levi, also from Charter. He added some continuous guitar riffs.

Another pair of lightning bolts, blue, stretched in front of the screen, only it was clear with the light that someone was in front of the screen stretching these bolts. This silhouette was still hard to make out, though. He stretched to his limit and Clap! The bolts snapped back together like a palates belt. A blue light partially illuminated behind the screen and revealed another silhouette on a drum set. This one was of Monty, what with the curly afro. He was rolling dark and intense drum rolls on the floor tom with bass hits like heart beats.

A pair of red lightning bolts, revealing more of the person in front of the screen, stretched in front of me. Clap! A silhouette of a man with a bandana and an electric mandolin was revealed. He resembled Justyn, skinny in structure with a circular face and an emo haircut. He was strumming somber, low chords that matched Levi’s riffs.

Finally, a pair of yellow lightning bolts stretched by the might of a curled up, still blacked out silhouette until both ends collided together into the final Clap! The last person revealed with the yellow light was a female, I characterized as Youbin, playing a hallowed electric violin. She played in a melody in the soprano range that caused tension every alternating note to Levi’s riffs.

The music got louder and faster as the dark figure in front of me slowly stood up, raising his head an revealed a tall, spiky flat top. I recognized this figure, but only in my dreams. As the music reached its epic, climactic ending, the spiky haired silhouette raised his arms up, cupping his palms toward the sky and Clap!

A blackout. The screen and the silhouettes disappeared within that split second, the colorful lights dimmed to black as the stage itself became dimly lit. The eerie electric didgeridoo still plays in the background.

On the left, there was a glistening ice sculpture of a feminine figure. The lightning bolts were held at the base of the sculpture by metallic hemispheres which somehow gave the piece a nice flowing yet non-uniform color that resembled the Northern Lights. Each curve and smooth texture prominently showed intricate colors like a tye-dyed flame engrossed in the ice.

On the right, there was a towering tree, the size of the ice statue. The roots were twisted, the leaves swayed, the vines hung, and the vibrant fruits and flowers sprouted in such a way that made the tree have a look of a male figure. The dim light of the stage provided dark shadows and even green color that accented the outline of facial features, a chest, and arms. The legs looked bent, like he was kneeling, shown through the hollow of the tree.

Words then fade in and out on the screen behind them:

“Fate is unpredictable… Like the flare and form of glacial lights.”

“Or a woman of foreign beauty.”

“Like roots of a geriatric tree, we absorb our power through Hope.”

“Together, we can break from the chains.”

“Together, we can fight the odds.”

“But… Would we want to?”

A meteor circled from above the stage, around my head, and into the statue, where it shattered into pieces. The crash caused sparks of fire that spread to the tree which weakened the roots and fell over. The fire wasn’t a normal colored fire. Because the statue was shattered, the lights were not enclosed into one form, so the lights emitted onto the fire, causing rainbow colors to emit pastel smoke.

The dark and colorful smoke whirled around me until I couldn’t see anything. There were flashes of light here and there. Whispers whirled around me as I tried to find the source. Then I saw the silhouette of two figures run from behind me onto the stage. There was a male figure, the one with the spiky tall hair from before, and a female figure, smaller in stature and had long wavy locks. The male dragged the femme along onto the stage.

Once the smoke dissipated, I saw the silhouettes climbing a circular staircase around a castle turret from behind the screen. There was only a red light emitting from behind the screen, just enough to see the two forms differentiated from the turret.

It was the femme that stopped in the middle of the stairs. Her voice cried out: “It’s no use! I can’t see through this smoke! He’s going to capture us!”

“There’s no quitting now,” responded the male, “We have to keep pushing!”

“Listen. I’m going to expire from this world—”

“No you’re not—!”

“It has been decided. There’s no arguing any longer. You can still run, be safe, and be free to love again!”

“I want you safe with me! We have to keep hope. Together we can break the chains and together we can fight the odds!”

Just then, the red light illuminates a large dragon silhouette emerging onto the turret, wagging his head back in forth. Its eyes and nostrils glow in the shadow of its silhouette. Its wings expand the broad length of the stage. It gave a ferocious war and turned its head to the left.

“You can’t fight Fate, it’s not worth losing your life over!”

“It’s worth losing my life if I get to keep you with me. Now come on we have to move forward!”

The human silhouettes embrace each other as the dragon silhouette raises its head high and breathes a giant ball of flame in my direction. The flames breach through the screen and engulf my view entirely.

THE END

Epic Hail

Blog No. 7b: Winter Dreamscapes Part II

The second part to my four part Winter Dreamscape series. This dream is in three parts because, as you might be able to tell from the dream, that night was pretty restless...

*Fire Hail*

The beginnings of this dream, like any other, had started out with a checkerboard. A small ball of flame lit up from above and landed into the checkerboard, making it ripple and dissipate into a dark blue.

The phenomenon was intriguing. The sky had a blue to red gradient corresponding with the ocean and the sun. The clouds were thick and black, blanketing the sky in darkness. The air was visible and wavy, rippling from the heat. The ocean was dark and brewing, boiling, steaming… It was too dark for it to be day, but too bright for it to be night.

I examined the ocean on top of the cliff to observe all of these changes. I could feel a sense of sorrow, like the place had felt familiar and I was depressed that I was never going to see it again.

“HURRY INTO THE JEEP!” A voice yelled from nowhere.

At that moment, the clouds open up a giant hole in the sky, revealing a large fire ball about to crash into the ocean. Different colors, like fireworks, swirled around the giant sphere of fire.

I ran and jumped into the passenger seat of the jeep. The jeep skidded and screeched as it drove past the road. A few seconds later, I hear a large BOOM!, as well as a large rush of water. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw that the flaming meteor hit and a giant tidal wave started to rise.

“Oh man, I’m too young to die!” said my Econ TA, Jeremiah, only in this dream he was apparently my brother.

“FLOOR IT OLD MAN!” said the remaining passenger, Lauren Graham, which suddenly made sense about why I was in a jeep. (Gilmore Girls reference)

“Ol’ Bessie is grinding her gears as fast as she can!” said the father figure in this dream, Robin Williams.

(Come to think of it, can you ever see Robin Williams in a thriller?)

The jeep tears up asphalt as the screen transitions, (by a flame wipe, where the screen burns up from left to right to reveal the next scene), to somewhere in the middle of what seemed to be a desert. We were exhausted, we were hot, but we were safe. As for the jeep, the engine started smoking and the tires had melted.

Robin and Lauren were having a little back and forth conversation:

“Well I think she finally did it…”

“Oh not this again.”

“I’ve had her through the coal mines, up the Mississippi, down with the man… Ol’ Bessie’s gone to the big car dealership in the sky!”

“Hey! At least the big flaming torpedo isn’t coming at us anymore!”

“Though the massive monsoon of boiling water almost did.” Jeremiah interrupted.

“Shut up, Toby!”

I walked away from them to find any sign that indicated our location. All I could see was the dead grass and the unavoidable heat ripple. I look up to see the sun to try the boy scout compass trick, but the brooding clouds made that impossible. There were no landmarks within view, so I walked up the road to see if there was any over the hill.

Below there was a city, only not a city. The buildings and roads suggested a bustling city, but the lack of human presence and the mounds of rabble suggested a ghost town. Among the buildings, I recognized a tall, metallic structure that held up something that looked like a UFO with a point on top.

“Hey guys! I think I know where we are!”

Robin, Lauren, and Jeremiah ran up the hill to join me, to take in what had happened to a once lively Seattle.

Fade out.

~

Fade in.

“How hard is it to find a car?” Jeremiah complained, “There are loads of them we could hot wire and drive!”

“It has to be the right one,” Robin said, “Something that can drive fast at manageable gas mileage.”

“Well hurry because we need to be in New York before sun down!” Jeremiah said anxiously.

I look at Jeremiah and feel this sudden sense of pity and woe.

I flashback to the beginnings of this apocalypse, when Jeremiah and Tao, another TA, had been walking hand in hand along a beach of some sort until they noticed the clouds darkening. The scene changes and they started running through the boiling hot rain toward the docks. They were at the end of the line and the boat only had room for one more person. Jeremiah was prepared to stick behind with Tao, holding his arm in his hands. Tao responded by giving a peck on Jeremiah’s cheek, and then pushing him onto the boat.

“I’ll find another way,” Tao yelled back, “I’ll meet you in New York. Don’t worry!”

“How can we meet your gay lover by sun down if we don’t even know where the sun is?” Lauren had remarked, unaware of Jeremiah’s vulnerable state.

I stomped on Lauren’s foot. Jeremiah didn’t speak up to defend himself.

A pebble at jet force speed fell and hit my shoulder. It fell to the ground, a small light of fire burned out.

“I think it’s starting to hail.”

We all looked up at the clouds as tiny drops of fire fell, and then we ran out of sight.

Somehow, the four of us were sitting in silence inside a giant Escalade in the next instant. Robin kept staring back at me behind the passenger seat, as if he was trying to communicate something to me. I can feel the tension between everyone in the car. I wanted to try anything to break the silence.

“So… Nice weather we’re having today.” Probably not the best choice of words…

“SHUT UP TOBY!” Lauren yelled.

“Don’t yell at David!” Jeremiah defended.

“I’m trying to break the silence, yo,” I said, “It’s becoming unbearable.”

“Unbearable?” Lauren sarcastically remarked, “Oh how can giant flaming balls of doomsday goodness become unbearable?”

“It doesn’t hurt to be optimistic!”

“It doesn’t hurt to be YOUR FACE!”

“How does that even make sense?” Jeremiah interrupted.

“It just does! We are all going to die in the end, you know it, I know it, we all fucking know it!”

“No we don’t! We don’t even know how far this storm expands! If we stay ahead of the storm and ride out the hail, then we have some hope of surviving this catastrophe!”

“It’s pointless to think there might be a light at the end of the tunnel if you can’t see any of the light to begin with!”

“The VonHolsens would have never thought of the situation that way!”

“Oh, well if you like the VonHellsings so much then why don’t you have THEM drive you five thousand miles to meet up with your boyfriend?”

“Would you all just SHUT UP?!” Robin interrupted, “Now we are a family. Family sticks together, right? Well right now we are one member short and our one member is headed to New York as we speak! I don’t know about you, but I could sure use some good news right about now!”

Jeremiah cracked a smile.

Just then, a large boom erupted from behind us. A giant fireball landed in the distance into a bunch of buildings. When the fireball landed, a bunch of little fireballs exploded across a few blocks, creating more wildfire.

Robin pushed hard on the pedal and we sped out of the main crash site. We kept hearing crashing of different kinds around us. The buildings started to fall over onto the other taller buildings like a domino effect.

“Hurry! I can see a helicopter up ahead!” I peered out the window and, sure enough, there was a helicopter gearing up its propellers.

Just then, the car decides to break down.

“Great… So much for gas mileage.” Lauren responded.

We all run out of the car and jetted toward the direction of the helicopter. Robin was getting weak and falling behind.

“Hurry! They’re going to leave without us!” I screamed back. Lauren, Jeremiah, and I paused as Robin fell to the ground. Jeremiah and I ran back to carry him up and then we continued running.

The helicopter blades whirred faster and faster. The helicopter pilot yelled over the speeding blades, “Hurry aboard! We don’t have much time!”

Just then, Robin, took a step back.

“Dude! What are you doing!?” Jeremiah asked.

“You guys go ahead; I have some things to settle here!”

“You’re crazy! Come on! LET’S GO!” Lauren demanded.

“As long as my family is safe, that’s all the assurance I need! Now I’ll meet you in New York as soon as I can find a ride!” Then Robin shut the helicopter door and the helicopter started taking off.

“That crazy oaf!” Lauren yelled.

“We need to turn back!” I yelled at the pilot.

The pilot looked down, we were already up pretty high. The pilot answered, “He’s going to have to find a different ride! If we turn back now, we’ll all be blown to smithereens!”

The three of us looked out of the window, helpless. We couldn’t help but feel that we would never see him again. As cars exploded and buildings seized up in flames, Robin waved goodbye as the helicopter speeds off.

Fade out.

~

Fade in.

The helicopter lands on top of the roof. The clouds were as brooding as ever. On top of the roof, a sign of hope, was Tao. Jeremiah ran out of the helicopter to meet up with Tao.

“Is that him?” Lauren bent over to whisper in my ear.

“Well it either has to be him or some other really friendly gay Asian dude waiting to make out with people that land on roofs.” I said this as Jeremiah and Tao locked lips and embraced each other tight.

Lauren and I stood there in the foreground observing the two lovers for what seemed like ten minutes. The both of us shifted in patience as this went on. After whistling show tunes, playing rock, paper, scissors, and even some mime, Lauren got restless.

“Okay, we GET IT!” Lauren interrupted the vigorous make out session.

Jeremiah and Tao chuckled as they walked back to where we stood. Jeremiah introduced Tao to the both of us more formally. Tao was noticeably tall compared to the three of us, which I took as a plus because I remembered that Jeremiah liked climbing on Robin’s shoulders when we were kids.

“Glad to meet you,” I said, raising my hand to shake his. He pushed it away and then lifted me up in a giant bear hug. I could hear Jeremiah’s laughter out of my free ear. As soon as he put me down, I fell back into a seated position.

“Don’t you have something to say, mother?” Jeremiah poised.

Lauren paused for a minute, took a step back, and said firmly, “Welcome to the family.” I heard Robin’s voice being echoed from her words. Tao came closer to try and hug her, but Lauren immediately replied, “Don’t even try it!” raising an index finger to Tao’s face.

We walked down the street, talking about nonsense things, avoiding the topic of Robin even though it was still conscious in everyone’s mind.

Just then, the sound of crunching metal came from behind us. We looked back and saw a tower of flame that engulfed the helicopter where it landed and started moving forward. The four of us ran and ran from the tornado of fire. City infrastructure had melted and burned as we passed.

“There!” Tao pointed at the tall building where there was a window washing platform waiting on the ground.

We all got on and Jeremiah and I cranked the platform upward toward the top of the building.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to use the elevator?” Lauren cried out.

“The fuses are gasoline powered! We would potentially explode once the elevator started!” Tao replied. This somehow made sense.

The platform climbed 23 floors as the four of us looked down in amazement of the spectacle of flame engrossing the street. Smoke started to rise and fill our lungs. Slowly, but surely, we rose above the fire and the smoke to the clearer air.

Suddenly, two of the four ropes snapped, tilting the platform forward. Lauren and I managed to grab onto the ropes as Tao and Jeremiah hung by the edge of the platform. I tried to loosen my grip on the ropes to help Jeremiah and Tao, but the platform threatened to fall into the smoke below.

Lauren screamed out, “How can this situation get any worse?”

“Don’t say that!” I screamed back, “If you say that, something might actually happen!”

“Augh! I don’t think I can hold on much longer!”

Jeremiah and Tao looked into each other’s eyes, Jeremiah’s watering up. I knew what they both were thinking. Tao’s words only confirmed it, “It was a pleasure to finally meet my family… For however short a time it was.”

The two interlocked lips one last time as they let go of the platform together into the smoke below. Lauren and I screamed back to them, unable to reach their hands in time and unable to let go of the ropes keeping the platform from meeting the same demise. I could feel tears coming from my eyes as the heat got more intense from below.

“Let’s climb up.” Lauren finally said.

Using the ropes, we started to snake our way up toward the top of the building ten stories up. My arms got weaker and weaker and I couldn’t help but feel the hope draining my body. I just wanted to let go right then and there.

As I looked up, I saw my reflection on the window that was a few feet away from me. I started to unclasp the rope with my legs, holding onto the rope with my hands at my chest, and then start swinging toward the window. I could hear Lauren’s confusion and sudden outbursts, but a few swings later, I kicked the window and shattered the glass, rolling inside on stable ground.

“Come on! It’s just like a tire swing!” I assured Lauren.

“I don’t think I can make it!” Lauren yelled back.

“You have to try!”

Lauren looked up toward the roof and rationalized the swing in her head. She started to swing, her hands seizing the rope tightly above her head. As she slowly recoils around, she shouts out expletives and complaints.

Suddenly, the rope had tied around Lauren’s wrist to the point where, as soon as she tried swinging into the open window, she screamed out bloody mirror as she felt her wrist joint being dislocated. She retreated back to the rope with her good hand and her legs. I looked around to see if there was anything I could use to pull her in, but there was virtually nothing in that room. She was stuck.

“Look, I’m sorry, Okay?” Lauren started to tear up, “I’m not good at handling Armageddons like the VonWilsonspicklemeyers down the street. Just know that I never meant to hurt you in any way… I just felt that I needed to stay strong somehow, and for some reason that translates to sarcasm in my book—”

“No kidding,” I mumbled.

“CAN IT!” Lauren lost composure for a second. Then she starts to breath heavily, the tears evaporate as soon as they leaked from her eyes, “I just feel powerless… I couldn’t even save the only few people that care about me… The only people I have ever really loved in this world.” I stared into her cute pouty face as tried so hard to reach her, to offer her one of my hugs, but the distance was too far. I couldn’t help but stand there motionless…

The heat and the flames were visible down below now. Like a piece of paper smoldering in the flames, Lauren burned away, piece by beautiful piece as the suns rays finally shine through the clouds behind her, her arm was outstretched trying to hold on. The sunlight shined a bright light that blinded my last sight, searing it into my mind.

THE END

What was extremely strange about this dream was that it felt like it was both a movie and an actual experience. I was waiting, practically begging, for the intense background music that my mind’s orchestra would concoct for the action scenes, but it never happened. It made the experience all the more real and frightening…

… Also, on a side note, I’m not exactly sure whether or not Jeremiah or Tao are actually gay, so I apologize if they somehow find this blog. XD

Fro On Epic Shingled Roof

Blog No. 7a: Winter Dreamscapes Part I

Four part series of weird dreams/SPORs (Subconscious Personifications of Reality). Enjoy.

*Fro on Checkerboard Shingled Roof*

Fade in.

I brush my foot across an oddly beveled checkerboard, each black and white tile curved and angled upward. I walk up the checkerboard to the top, where the checkerboard is folded slightly at the center, where a long platform was at the crease, extending from end to end of the checkerboard, slightly curved upward at each end. It’s suddenly clear that every tile is actually a roof shingle.

I glance up and see a tall figure in a fencing uniform, raising his epée and widening his stance. I can hear the blood pulsing in my ears.

“Prepare to DIE!”

The fencer charges on his tip toes toward me as I, somehow, push the blade down with my hand and lift myself up to kick the fencer’s mask off. The mask rolls off his head, sliding down and off the roof. This was where I noticed that I couldn’t make out the ground below. We must’ve been on a tall pagoda-ish building.

I look up to see the fencer’s face, only there was no head. In fact, the fencer had completely disrobed, leaving the uniform idle in midair. The blade, clothes, and armor fell and slid off the roof. As I looked down, I saw a shadow darkening below me, which prompted me to quickly look up.

The sun blazed in my eyes as a tall, slender silhouette comes rushing into view. I dash out of the way as the silhouette lands on his right foot. JT was holding a katana behind him, his bare left leg up in the air like a flamingo, (flamingo came into mind because his very short robe was a bright pink).

“Draw your weapon and show me what Jew’s are made of!” JT writhed in fiery anger.

I look down at my waist and noticed I was wearing a belt and a sword holster. I grab the sheath in my left hand and the handle of the sword in my right, hesitating on drawing the weapon as I scanned for options.

My time grew short as JT charged again. I was trying to avoid hitting him, but I didn’t have a choice. It seems however, it didn’t take too much to make him fall as I pull the sword from its sheath and jam the handle into JT’s chest. I examined the sword as I pulled it; the wide-thin blade was a deep bluish-grey with designs of a golden crescent moon and golden Jewish stars. JT rebounds back up hit me, too, with the handle of his blade against my forehead.

“Cheap move… Even for you,” JT muttered as he rubbed his rib cage.

“I haven’t even the slightest idea what we are doing!” I yelled out, awaking from my stupor. I stood up, still feeling dizzy. JT was pointing the tip of his blade in my face. “What if we get hurt? I have no armor! What kind of man are you?”

JT drops his katana on the ground and opens up his pink robe, revealing a naked JT, (of course my reaction in the dream had blocked JT’s privates from my actual view).

“Apparently, that kind…”

JT ties up his robe and picks up his blade, pointing it back to my face. “FIGHT me.”

I raise my blade up to the same position his blade was. “BRING it.”

The battle begins with JT thrusting his katana blade forward. I jump to the right to avoid the attack, almost slipping on the roof shingles. I swing my blade at his feet, to which JT skillfully skipped and cartwheeled. I run up to the stable part of the roof to regain my stance. Then the both of us jumped forward and started swinging our blades in midair. Clanging and sparks of light fly from each blow as the duel got more and more intense.

The intensity of one blow threw us backward at either ends of the roof. We both stand up and, mirroring each other, we run toward the center readying a backhanded swing that clamored on impact. JT and I both stood our ground and kept pushing our blades forward, refusing to let our will power be broken, our stance unhindered.

Suddenly, JT bends his head forward and kisses me on the lips. I was taken aback by this act just enough for me to lower my guard and JT to continue his strike. My grip on my sword had loosened and, as a result, the blade flew in the distance toward the sun on the mountainous horizon.

“It’s the art of distraction, my friend!”

Then he readied a horizontal slash. I quickly bend down and, without missing a beat, punch him in the groin. JT cuts the slash off short as he drops his blade and sits down in a fetal position, squealing in pain.

“Distraction. Got it. What’s next?”

After a second, he gets up and says, “I guess a costume change is in order.” His outfit changed from the short pink robe to a blue and white garb with a conical straw hat. He raised a giant pole and swung it around his body to a fighting stance. I look down and my outfit has changed, too, to where I looked like Cid from FFVII, complete with goggles on my head and a pole of my own.

A spar ensues, where we both repeatedly try to trip and poke each other with our very large sticks. It got more interesting as it went on as we both started using our poles at higher speeds and in creative and unconventional ways. The roof, also, started shifting upwards in areas where he or I stood to prevent us from falling and then return to normal.

When my subconscious got bored with that, JT would do an outfit change as soon as he would knock my weapon out of my hands. Then I would get a random weapon to use thrown at me from below the roof shingles. Occasionally, JT gets a new weapon, but only after I was able to use my weapon to make JT lose a round in an embarrassing and hilarious way.

It went like this for awhile. Random weapons kept getting chucked onto the roof, (a tennis racket, a body pillow, a frying pan), as random articles of JT’s endless wardrobe kept sliding off, (a baseball uniform, a scuba suit, a Vegas showgirl outfit). It definitely showed the timeline in the background of the duel as the sun had gone from one end of the roof to the other, sunrise, sunset.

When the sun finally set, the sky filled up with stars and celestial clouds like I’ve never seen before. We both were breathing heavily after a huge day of fighting. I knew I had to end it here and now…

“I know now,” I said as streams of light circulate around my hands behind my back, “without a doubt,” JT raises his version of Cloud’s Buster Sword, “that Kingdom Hearts… is BRIGHT!”

I twirl two keyblades into existence in my hands and pulled them up as JT swung his blade down for the final blow. The impact of these blades caused a flash of bright light…

THE END.

Massive Thighs

Blog No. 6: A New Lifestyle

I've mentioned before that I was going to visit the Wellness Center at OPERS. Well, this week I did.

I started on a Saturday, feeling awkward as to what I was supposed to do. I walked into the front desk, where Kaylah works, and found a half-asleep Asian man, staring at the computer. I got his attention and offered him my student ID. He swiped it and I was signed in. Now, I didn't know what I had to do, but I realized, as I was walking out of the building to the actual Wellness Center, I had my stuff with me. I'm pretty sure I can't run with stuff in my pockets. So I walked back, said, "Hey I need a locker," to which the half-asleep Asian man handed me a lock with a slip of paper, as well as a towel. I offered him my ID card again, thinking that I needed to check out the lock, but he waved me on. So I walked back toward the lockers and put all of my stuff in, wallet, keys, iPod, and cell phone.

Then I walked across the land, passed the basketball court, the pool, the indoor basketball court, the tennis courts, the racket ball court, the dance rooms, and the dance room shack. The Wellness Center at the end of all this stuff had the exercise equipment, the weights, the treadmills, all of that. I walked in the sliding door and saw a sign that read: Check in with your Student ID at the front desk with an arrow pointing at the desk by the door. I had left my student ID in my wallet…

Wellness CenteràOPERS

I walk up to the locker and realize that the slip of paper that the half-asleep Asian man gave me had the locker combination, the same slip of paper that was now currently sitting on top of the stuff in the locker. CRAP. So I tried remembering the numbers in my head. 12… 22… 18? It had a lot of twos in it that was for sure. Then I realized that if I bent down to look in the little slits of the locker, I could see the last two numbers on the slip of paper. Certainly, it was affective. I opened up my wallet and got my student ID.

OPERSàWellness Center

I walked up to the front desk to hand them my card. The blonde chick said, "Oh, but you already have a towel!"

"Didn't I need to check in with my card?"

"What? No…"

That was productive…

Walking into the gym, I saw a bunch of people at the weight lifting machines. I tried looking at some of the machines, but some of them had these pads and numbers that I had to enter in. I wasn't certain of how it worked. So I just continued walking to the few cycling treadmills at the window. Thing is, I didn't know how exactly to work that machine either… Luckily, someone also just got on the same exact machine right next to me, so I watched her dial it in.

So I pedaled. As to be expected, I got pretty out of breath. I kept cycling though. I just tried thinking about the girl next to me, to see if she noticed that I was watching her, and not try and think about how sore my feet were getting. I outran her, because she stepped off ten minutes later in a sweat. I looked down I saw that I had ran 9ish minutes and I ran a complete mile. I was proud of myself! Why not continue on for some more? So the first day ended up being 2 miles, a record for me, seeing as I never really run even half a mile on a treadmill. XD

My pain assessment though… I was sore all over. My thighs, my calves, my arms, my rear… I had grabbed all of my stuff and gave the lock back to the half-asleep Asian man, who was joined by the peppy brown haired woman, who asked, "What's your last name?"

"Um… But I didn't give him my card." Kaylah had always asked last names when people returned stuff because there was a slot system behind the desk. The brown haired woman nodded slightly, but the half-Asian man perked up and slightly turned himself away from the woman…

Second day I was more prepared. Run to 2 miles… Finish this song… Slow down… Run faster… 4 miles! It was during "Simple and Clean," which drags on for a bit at the end, so it ended up being 4.08 miles. The pain was a little worse that day, seeing as I came in the following day. For some reason my arms had hurt the most, which was weird because I didn't work on them at all…

UPDATE: From this point on, I had tried out and added a few things other than running on the treadmill.

I remembered I liked rowing, for some reason. There were only a couple of rowing machines, but they didn't seem to be taking up a lot of occupation time as first thought. When I first tried it, there was one of the TA's from my Econ for Accounting class. He did recognize me, remarkably, and we got into a small conversation while we were rowing. I thought he was cool because he had an eyebrow ring which, on him, you really couldn't tell it was on until you looked up at him into his eyes. Honestly, I started a conversation with him because I was a little unsure as to how to set the machine up. I just followed his lead… XD

The weight lifting areas are sometimes weird. They are packed on the second floor, but there are hardly any on the first, even though both of these areas take up the same amount of space. You'd think that people would want to exercise in peace and not in front of everyone… Well at least that was how I felt. Again, I did some exercises after watching what other people did. To me, the various weird machines and chairs and benches looked weird, like each one was supposed to serve a purpose. I just really wasn't sure what because it wasn't strikingly clear…

What I end up doing is ignoring the machines altogether and use the hand weights for the various exercises the machines would've done anyway! XD

 

I'm definitely intent on seeing this through. It feels invigorating afterward. I have this feeling of self confidence and accomplishment that I don't ordinarily get on a day to day basis. I've looked up some articles online to see what I should and shouldn't be doing. I found on one cite that I should consider this, "my new lifestyle," that you should take immediate steps to adjusting your routine to that of something healthier.

So I developed a system. After classes are over and I change into my gym clothes, I'd go to the Wellness Center and start my routine. I'd run 2-4 miles on a treadmill or elliptical, then do some stretches outside on the balcony, then work on my arms in the weightlifting area, go rowing, and then if I'm not too tired I'd run some more. Hopefully I can get my tennis racket so that I can start practicing my tennis swings.

This whole, "new lifestyle" thing is a little bit scary. It feels like I'm redefining who I am to accommodate someone who I want to be. I am definitely starting to live like a college student in that regard. I've started tightening my belt on a few things, like no more coffee shops or fast food restaurants. The result of which is literally that, I'm able to tighten my belt a little more. I've also noticed that I'm more active during the day, and I'm able to grasp concepts of my classes easier. I'm not sure if that last one has a correlation with this or not, but I still thought it was mentionable. Either way, I finally feel I'm actually doing something right for once.

 

Heh, it's funny that, now that I sweat a lot more often, my clothes are starting to smell like JT… Ah nostalgia… XD