A few blogs/vlogs/tweets/convos-with-friends recently have got me thinking. It's a feeling/thought that creeps in every now and then and kinda brings me down. It happens when I realize I've made some new friends (more than just acquaintances) but over time our conversations become less frequent. Or I notice that within the group of friends I seem to be the outsider. The one who talks to them or is there to hang out sometimes but isn't included in other activities.This has happend both on and off-line and whenever I notice it I get down.

But I know that part of it is my own doing. I let those feelings fester inside to the point that I sometimes get bitter or upset, thinking I'm not really liked, just tolerated or something like that. I don't speak up, or make my presence known. I sit on the sidelines watching everyone else have fun, being too shy to join in. I'll be some sort of mix of the introvert silently wishing to be talked to or included and the extrovert willing to joke around or lend a helping hand or an open ear/shoulder. I'll stay in and do nothing/waste time not interacting w/ anyone, not b/c I don't like them but b/c I have some sort of social anxiety thing where I feel like I'd be bothering them or that I wouldn't know what to talk about. I'll overthink what I should do and then end up doing nothing but feeling alone.

I know (deep down) that these friends do like me the way I am and wouldn't shun me if I try to join in. Yet I still notice cliques. I notice that they talk to each other but don't include me either b/c they don't quite know me enough or b/c over time they grew closer and I was kinda pushed to the outside. Or I just didn't join in, so I was kinda just forgotten.

I don't want anyone to feel they have to include me b/c of pity or b/c I'm whining about this (though I wouldn't complain if you did, haha). I know I need to make more effort first. I need to join in and at least try to be included. Or I need to not get all mopey/lonely/angsty when I'm not included.

Not sure how to end this, so I'll bring back something I did during BEDA:

Today was awesome b/c
1) This
2) alanlastufka  officially released his album he did with Tom Milsom, "Taking Leave" and did a midnight release party on BlogTV (something I joking suggested as a way for those of us not going to the midnight HBP release to still be able to enjoy the night) while everyone else was watching the new Harry Potter movie. During said show, he previewed the music video for the song "Can't" hours before everyone else got to see it. Btw, you should go to dftba.com (or Amazon or iTunes) and buy the album yourself (Alan's donating 25% of his profits to kiva.org)

You know it's been a while since you've blogged when you can't even remember your password. I think my last post was back in May, just after BEDA. Ahh, memories! I miss it, and kinda wish I had continued afterwards, b/c I'm so out of practice. Anywyas, just wanted to update y'all with what's been going on with me, just before I turn 26 (I cringe when I realize I'm actually THAT old).

First of all, Saturday is my birthday, if LJ hasn't already told you so. I don't have much planned except for going to the Diablos game with my family and maybe a friend or two that doesn't already have plans and likes baseball. Afterwards is the fireworks show, or as I like to call it: my birthday candles ;-) I secretly (ok, it's not that much of a sekrit) love to pretend that all of America celebrates my birthday whether they know it or not. It's my birthday, so I'll pretend what I want to. Don't judge! You'd do it too if you were me!

I should be moving in with some friends soon. I'm on the lease officially once one more friend signs the amendment, and I need to make my first part of the rent payment, and actually start moving stuff in. I tried a few weeks ago to move some of the big stuff, but no one was going to be there that weekend and they didn't want to risk leaving the key out, which I guess is understandable. Plus I apparently didn't give enough warning so that they could clear out space in the room I'd be moving into. I thought it was enough time, but they didn't agree. We (mom, sis, and I) ended up renting a big ol' cargo van to move all this stuff and ended up only taking Amanda's stuff which we would have only needed a truck or a smaller van for, and we were a little upset about that. I deserve part of the blame for being so horrible with communicating. I mean I've gotten called out by the guys a few times for not keeping them updated with my plans and other stuff related to moving in with them. Probably not the best way to start this whole roomie thing, is it?

What else? Oh, I just worked the Warped Tour on the 1st. It was my fourth time working it and Las Cruces' 7th time hosting it. My first job with Event Staff was that first of their Warped Tour hostings. So many memories and so many bands seen that I wouldn't have seen or sometimes even known about otherwise.  This year I was excited to hear/see Underoath, 3Oh!3, The Devil Wears Prada, and Bad Religion. I also heard some other bands at some of the other stages that I liked and wish I either knew tthe name or where to hear more of thier music. If they're good enough, hopefully I'll hear about them eventually. This was the first year I hadn't done barricade for even part of the day which was kind of sad, but on the plus side I got to sit in a fold-up chair with a canopy at the backstage gate near the main stage (only one this year...stupid economy!). That meant I not only had constant shade, but got to see band members come and go, some of which actually acknowledged me.  If only I had the luck of one of our former employees who got asked to join Warped Tour staff on the road!

I'm still searching for a job other than Event Staff. I applied at Barnes & Noble for like the Nth time, and a childcare place for the 2nd time b/c a friend said they just got hired there, but I guess they're not hiring anymore b/c I haven't even gotten a call-back for an interview.  If you have any leads or suggestions let me know, b/c this is really getting me bummed out, plus I need the money to help with rent and such with the guys. I do have an interview later this month with K-Mart. I applied a few months ago and got to the stage of the app online where they ask you to schedule an interview. It looked like it was only on Thursdays, but the only open one was for later this month. Do they really 1) have that many people applying and 2) only have one day a week to devote to interviews? Bleh!

Not much else has happened, except getting to go to Houston/Galveston during Memorial Day weekend. I got to see the Gulf Coast for the first time, as well as one of the places my dad grew up in. And I finally got to meet my internet-BFF, Casey! It was good times and I hope to do it again the next time I'm out there visiting my dad in Houston. She's so far the only person from youtube I've met in person, b/c I have yet to make it to any of the gatherings. They're always too far away, such as the most recent one in Portland or the 789 one coming up. There are plans for one in TN I think, but even that's kinda stretching it for me, as is the Chicago mini-meet-up thing happening next week.  If I could afford long drives alone or plane tickets, I wouldn't mind so much. They really need to hold one in PHX or Denver, or ABQ...somewhere relatively close.

Anyways, I guess that about catches you up on me. What's going on or new with you?

This is just filler to show I haven't forgotten about LJ :-p
Maybe next time i'll do a poll. Havent' used that feature yet and I've wanted to.

Comment on this meme and I will:
1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something - fandom, a song, a color, a photo, a word etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.
7. In return, you must post this in your LJ.

Last day of BEDA, huh? I was kinda hoping it would feel special or something. I do feel a sense of relief though, knowing I won't have this self-imposed obligation hanging over me. I did have fun with it though until maybe the last few days...at least on the writing side of it. The reading part was great, seeing so many people interact and read about each other and what we thought was important or just fun to talk about. 

I can't forget the VEDA people either, because it probably took just as much, if not more, effort for them to make it through this month. I know I would have had a lot harder time with VEDA but I think next time I might just do it to try and improve my vlogging "skillz." I want to do more than just video responses and memes, and I think the only think keeping me from doing it before was that I felt I couldn't live up to those vloggers I saw as "better" than me. But in her final marathon blog today Maureen Johnson responded to someone with similar insecurities by saying:

Tim Logan never thought a week ago that he'd be where he was right now, which was standing inches away one of the most popular and beautiful co-eds at the Coker College Spring Formal, about to have his picture taken with her as proof.  His friends could hardly believe it, and neither could he.

"Pretend you like each other and scoot in a bit closer" the professional photographer said jokingly to Tim and Harmony.  "I'm sure she won't bite, though you are quite the hunk of cheese!" She followed that pun with a wink making Tim blush and feel even more awkward, if that was even possible. When Tim made no movement at all except a slight lean towards Harmony, she reached over and pulled him close to her so that their sides were now touching.

"She's right, you know," Harmony said.

"Huh?"

"On both counts, she was right. I won't bite you, and you are quite handsome," she explained with a playful smile.

"Oh, um, thanks! Y-Y-You are too! Pretty, I mean...not handsome. And that gardenia in your hair really compliments your dress" Tim replied, flustered and blushing.

"Hehe, you're welcome! And thanks!"

"Hate to break up the compliment-fest, kids, but could you look here at the camera. Unlike you youngins, I'm standing here to look pretty.  There ya go! Now smile and say 'disestablishmentarianism!' "

"Disestab...li...what?" Tim and Harmony both inquired, confused.

"I'm just joshin' with ya! Can't help myself sometimes! Say 'the bees knees!' "

*click* *flash*

As they walked away, blinking and rubbing their eyes to get rid of the spots circling around, a Michael Bublé song started playing.  Tim thought this was just the right opportunity to impress his date with some of the ballroom dancing he'd been learning all semester.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Right now? I don't think I know how to dance to this."

"That's ok," Tim reassured her. "It's easy. I'll teach you as we go. First of just put your left hand...here." Tim indicated his right shoulder, and then reached for her hand to place it there when she hesitated. "Ok, now I'll take your other hand like so, and off we go!  Just look at me, not my feet," he explained as he started to move forward, nudging her chin up lightly with his hand after a few steps as she started to glance down, stumbling.

"Wow a dancer and a poet! I'm impressed!'

"Huh?" Tim asked, as they continued forward.

" 'So', 'go.'...'me,' 'feet'......Nevermind, I'm just being a dork." Harmony said looking away, embarrassed.

"Haha, who would've thought?"

"Thought what?"

"Who woulda thought YOU could feel as awkward as I have all night?" Tim clarified.

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...and that's as much as I could get tonight. Hit a block just before I was about to throw in a reference to "dioxide-ribo-nucleic-acid". Sorry Kiera! Haha, I tried.

Yet again I waited too long to do this. No excuses. Just not feeling this blogging everyday thing anymore. Still love reading everyone else's but writing my own...not so much. Thought about just doing a run-through of my day but it hasn't been worth even that except for the little fit I threw earlier tonight that led me storming out of the house and going for a long walk around a local park and a little of the surrounding area. Ran into an old friend though, so that was random and nice.

Anyways, I said I'd do a story using the random words some of you gave me (gardenia, cheese, antidisestablishmentarianism, dioxide-ribo-nucleic-acid), And I will do it, just not for this entry. Maybe for the #30, but this was harder than I thought and I opted not to do a half-hearted attempt at it. Sorry that I made you all wait for this.
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Today was awesome because of a Daniel-centric episode of Lost. Full of lots of "WHaAaAaAT!!?" moments or "I knew it!".

Today is one of those days when I just want to get rid of my car and get a new one. And I don't mean a different one that's used. I mean a new one. One that doesn't have a few years on the parts til they start breaking down. The one I have now is 10 years old, but I've only had it for the past 6 years, the last 3 of which have seen it go through various repairs and replacements b/c of the parts nearing the end of their 'lives".

Today it was the radiator tank. Luckily, it won't be as expensive as the past few repairs/replacements but it was still pretty darn inconvenient. I think the problem happened last Thursday or Friday but I hadn't looked under the hood to see what the problem was/might be until today. From what my sis told me the day she tried to drive it up to Cruces, I just thought it needed water or anti-freeze, so I put those in today. It was still over-heating though and on the way back from using it today, the car had had enough when I was about a mile from home. Luckily it also about a mile from a near-by repair shop (closer than the one we've been taking it to). So after letting it cool down for a bit and calling around to get estimates, we took it in.  They also suggested replacing the thermostat which might have caused the bigger problem, but Mom said we should wait on that for now 1) because we're low on funds til the next paycheck and 2) we kinda trust the place we've been taking it to more, even though I'm sure these guys can be trusted.  This 2nd reason is what inspired what I really would rather blog about which is "trust".

Trust is an interesting thing, and i wish I could do it justice here, but we'll see what my tired brain can get out before I head to bed early (yes I said early). It can make or break a relationship (of any sort). Without it some things just won't happen, but when it's there you and others get more out of it.  Take the car repair shops I just mentioned for example.  The one we usually have been going to was recommended by a friend who we trust the summer my car's original engine broke down for good, and because of his honesty and good work with that we have trusted him and his shop with further needed repairs and such when they came up.

Trust is often borne from a record of honesty and reliability. The more honesty you show to another person, and the more they see they can rely on you for various things, the more they're going to trust you. This trust can lead to others who don't know you yet trusting you as well, because they trust their friends who trust you.  This can build up a strong chain of trust. 

The odd thing though is that trust can also be very fragile, and can be lost or chipped away at with just one or a few acts of dishonesty or a history of unreliability.  Show up late enough times and your boss losses trust in your reliability and could eventually fire you.  Let a friend's secret slip or lie to them enough and they won't trust you as much in the future.  Luckily it can often be repaired depending on how strong the trust was to begin with and if you can keep from damaging the trust again.

If you've been either majorly hurt by someone you once trusted a lot or been let down by enough people, it becomes a lot harder to put your trust in anyone. This often leads to doing much more on your own and shying away from the help of others, which can then lead to feeling alone or getting stuck in or with something that is much harder or next to impossible to get out of on your own. On the bright side, someone that is trust-worthy will often come along or will be closer than you think, and will eventually help you to rebuild trust in others.

I kinda wanted to say more, or at least elaborate on some of this, but 1) I started this late, 2) I am pretty tired, and 3) I need to be up super early b/c I'm going to be up in Cruces tomorrow (well today but, shh, let's just pretend it's still the 27th) observing all day at a high school.

So, I'll leave you with some questions to answer (or not). Who are some people that you put a lot of trust in?  Are you easily trusting of people or does it take quite a bit for you trust others? Do you think people trust you? Why or why not?  These are some heavy questions so feel free to answer with your own blog.

Thanks for reading, if you got all the way through, and I hope to earn back your trust to get these done before midnight for the next few days, haha. Sorry.

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Today was awesome becuase of the season finales of Chuck and Heroes. I can't wait for the next seasons of each, though some are worried about Chuck not being picked up for the fall, and Heroes just lost a director/producer due to financial concerns.  I think everything will be fine though.

I'm running on empty after 26 days of this. I've tried to find inspiration anywhere, even mining my brain with a pick-ax (Oh dear! Am I becoming a Miner?!!! NOOOOOOO!) and yet I'm not finding any blogging gold...or even a less precious metal.  So I'm resorting to the good ol' "what I did today" type of blog. So without further stalling/wasting space to make this longer

*BTW this is starting from after midnight just so I have more to mention*
- finished up party thrown for sister with a game of tel-ictionary (see here for more about that) and taking home food

- got home from said party around 1

- caught up on internet related stuffs

- did yesterdays blog, really late

- didn't get to bed til late (early?) hour

- set alarm to be able to wake up in time for church, but

- slept through alarm and thus also church =/

- did not much of anything for a  while (well, it is a day of rest after all, right?)

- went through more of one of my new favorite web-comics (Questionable Content)

- watched No Reservations with Mom and sister

- found out I may have discovered a new flu to be worried about.

- hypothesized that I may have contracted this disease from too much of "The Mouse" aka Disney Channel (overload of Disney people in "Hatching Pete" movie that I watched tonight)

- and had salmon patties for dinner which will double as "why today was awesome"

- wished you all a goodnight (So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu! Adieu! Adieu, to you and you and yoo-oou!)

- shamelessly asked for more questions, topics, and/or a random word or phrase to inspire my last few blogs of this BEDA project.

I know this is already 2 and a half hours late (my time), but oh well. I still consider it Saturday until I fall asleep and wake up again :-p **in fact I'll just change the timestamp, even though I've already told you I started this at 2:30AM...shhh!!!**

Why was this so late? Well, lately I've been waiting til late evening to even start on my blogs, which is just the procrastinator in me shining through.  Tonight a family friend was throwing a birthday cookout/dinner celebration for my sister. Okay, well technically she has been throwing one of these each month this year as a combined party for all the people that had a birthday. Tonight though, the others couldn't make it, so it was pretty much just for Amanda. 

The food was great, including the homemade cake and apple pie. Then afterwards it turned into a game night, starting with Skip Bo (my first time playing it, and I might buy it myself for my own game nights).  Then we moved on to Pictionary, which then almost went to charades but instead ended up being us picking random Pictionary cards and all acting out various words (often with hilarious results).  Then Amanda and I taught everyone else (there were 5 of us by this time) a game we learned from some college friends called Tel-ictionary which is like "Telephone" (start with a phrase and whisper it down the line and she how badly it got butchered along the way, like gossip) combined with Pictionary.

So, I know it is probably less fun reading about it then actually being there, but this is all I had to write about tonight. Sorry. Hopefully I'll have something better for Sunday. Leave me some topics or questions in the comments and I'll try to do them justice or at least give you something better than this.  Also, how was YOUR weekend? What did you do?
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I'm pretty sure you can guess why today was awesome, so ya...no need to repeat myself. Goodnight! (though it'll probably be morning/afternoon by the time anyone sees this, if ever).

Um, ya. I know this is late...and it might also be kinda lame, but there's a good excuse.

So today was my sister's (xmandiepandiexgo wish her a happy birthday) birthday, and to celebrate we went out to eat at this fancy place in one of the malls that I had no idea existed until today. We didn't get home til sometime after 10 and I had to catch up with everything else when I got back. Then I remembered I still hadn't written anything today. Well, that's a lie. If you're my friend on here, you probably saw my emo post from this morning. I almost thought about making that today's entry, but no. It's best kept how it is. Then with like 10 minutes left in the day she wanted to take pics of us because we were all lookin snazzy or something. Here are some of those:

testing the placement and timer


caught off guard


I think this was the final product b/c it was the best of them


and one more bonus pic of what my mom's hair looked like today because it was silly hair day at the daycare where she works (if you can't tell, there's glitter all up in there and it was spiked up. who knew my mom was so punk rock :-p)


On top of all of this, it was Shakespeare's birthday and to celebrate, you can find some Shakespearean insults here or here:


That's about all I have for today. Sorry.

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Today was awesome because Maureen Johnson issued a challenge today on twitter. If we got Suite Scarlett (go pre-order it now) up to at least 1000 on the sales rankings by midnight west coast time she would go to trapeze school. She made this challenge thinking it wouldn't happen because of where she was in the rankings at the time (4000 something I think). Sometime tonight, however, her book made it up to #673 (it's now at #430). So the power of the nerdfighters triumphs once again and MJ will be enrolling in trapeze school sometime this year!

The other day I asked for ideas for topics to blog about and Kiera said, "how about an examination of what makes you YOU. Like just funny quirks and stuff...?"

Despite the subject this was a hard question for me to answer. I'm bad about talking about myself. Maybe that's one of my quirks? Anyways...I'll give it a go. might be kinda short b/c I waited too long to finish this even though I started it last night knowing that I like to procrastinate.

First of all, it's not really a quirk but I'm a pretty shy guy. At least around most people or if I've just met you. You might not have even noticed as much if you only know me online, because I'm much more talkative online than I am in person. Depending on the situation I might seem pretty outgoing when I first meet you, but then you'll notice I tend to slink into my shell more often, unless something pulls me right back out.

As far as my sense of humor, you could say it's a bit on the cheesey side sometimes. Being punny is hard work sometimes, and totally worth the groans.  I've also noticed sometimes people just don't get my jokes or that the jokes are sometimes weird. That's ok though, as long as I think it's funny I'm usually not hurt if you don't laugh along...unless it was accidentally in bad taste. In that case I'm sorry.

Another thing that makes me who I am is having an open ear/shoulder.  Friends tend to come to me and open up about things (like sekrits or problems they're having) I guess because they know I will listen, not judge, and be supportive as much as I can. I'm not so great with advice...at least I don't think so...but if they ask for some I'll do my best.

Um...I really don't know what else to say that makes me who I am.....Maybe if I had more time to think about this. Maybe a part 2 sometime later?

So, whar are some things that make YOU you? Or to indulge my vanity a bit more (and because I think who we are in others' eyes is sometimes different than how we see ourselves), what do YOU think sets me apart or makes me unique?

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Today was awesome because I found this through someone else's BEDA on MJ's ning
and also b/c I was part of a DailyBooth collab pic today.

No, I'm sorry to disappoint but I'm not even in one band, so I can't have an "other" band.  This one's gonna be about some of my favorite bands/artists and their other bands/solo projects.  I was inspired by my "song of the day" on twitter or rather the band that it's by, Grand Incredible.

I don't have too much to say about this except to say that I like when musicians can break off from what you're used to hearing from them and try new things. Sometimes it will just be experimenting with a new style or something different within the context of their band. Take for instance dc Talk. Their first few albums were rap and then they come out with Jesus Freak which was all rock. Following that they came out with Supernatural which was still on the pop/rock scale but this time they were experimenting more with style.  Then soon after each of the members wanted to do their own solo thing.  Toby Mac went back to the rap roots, Kevin Max went more for the rock/contemporary sound, and Michael Tait kinda went the more experimental route. I think each of these versions of the band were great even though I lean more towards Supernatural and Jesus Freak (those were the first things I heard from them). They show that a band can be successful even with constantly changing their sound. Of course this does not apply to all bands and musicians, but in this one case it does.

Back to the band that started this topic, Grand Incredible. They are made up of the lead singer (Matt "Mojo" Morginsky) and guitarist (Ethan Luck) of the O.C. Supertones (a Christian ska band for those who don't know this awesomeness :-p).  As far as I know they only made one album but that was enough for me.  The sound of this project was closer to the Supertones' last album Hi-Fi Revival but without the horns and bass. It was more classic/beach rock with a bit of punk thrown in, and a little bit of the Supertones style on "Here We Go." I like this album because it's the same mix of fun and deep I expect from the Supertones with a new sound a bit of the sappy/romantic stuff thrown in ("You Had Me At Hello", "Time after Time (cover)", and "Right On Time")

I wanted to talk a bit more about my other favorite "spin-offs" but I think I've bored you all enough so far and I'm getting kinda tired. So I'll just leave you with a few other of my favorite bands that have had other projects.  First off is Relient K, whose lead singer had a solo project called Matt Theisen and the Earthquakes (don't let the name fool you, it was only him on piano and occasionally guitar).  Two of his songs from this project made it onto Relient K's Five Score and Seven Years Ago ("Faking My Own Suicide" and "Deathbed").

Then there is Jon Foreman, the lead singer of Switchfoot.  He first had a solo project where he released 4 EPs titled Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. I haven't heard all of this yet, but I think it's because it's more mellow than I'm used to.  Then this year he formed a new band called Fiction Family with the lead singer of Nickelcreek (Sean Watkins). Separate I liked both of their bands and together they just awesome.

Finally there is Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK) whose lead singer Trevor McNevan and drummer Steve Augustine formed the side project FM Static. It actually took me a year or two to find out that the bands were even related. I liked them both individually, and even more when I found out what was going on.  If you haven't heard of either, Thousand Foot Krutch could probably most closely be compared to Linkin Park, and FM Static is more of a pop-punk band. Both have become pretty popular, whereas most side projects maybe only put out one album or a few songs.

Ok, so I guess I had a bit more than I thought to say about each of those. I can't help it, though. They're some of my most favorite bands.  I'll end here, for realsies, with the question portion.  What are some of your favorite bands that have had either side projects or solo projects or both? Did you like the original band or the new stuff more?

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Today was awesome because my sister managed to get in a mini-accident with my car that caused no damage to either car.

It's spring time now and that can only mean one thing: spring cleaning.  I don't know why spring became the the time to clear everything out and get rid of the excess in our lives, but that's apparently just how it is.  Maybe it has to do with all the storing up of stuff and accumulation of new things during winter. We have to make room for the new, and that means getting rid of the old and unused. 

I bring this up because of someone in the nerdfighter community who has decided to do a bit of spring cleaning in his life recently. I understand why he went all out with this, but I think it was a bit excessive, and may cut him off from from some good dialogue in the communities he is a part of.  Someone else I sort of know has even further and just removed her presence from the internet altogether. I was sad to hear that, but sometimes we just need a detox from things like the internet when they start to consume more of our lives than necessary. In fact, one of Maureen Johnson's 18 Things to Do Whenever is to "Spend one week completely offline." The point though, is to come back refreshed and with your priorities in check. 

In order to keep your priorities in check though, sometimes it helps to clear away some of the clutter that was overwhelming you before.  For instance on twitter I like to go through the people I'm following and get rid of the people that don't update or whose tweets don't appeal to me anymore, or those who update waaayyyyyy too much (don't worry, if I'm still responding to you, then you most likely haven't been cut...it's mostly "celebs" or themed twitters). I used to be following way more people than were following me, but within this past month the trend has reversed itself and I'm happy. It lets me see the tweets I want to see and leaves room for all the IRL friends that are finally starting to catch on to the trend.  Or on facebook, I'll go through and get rid of applications I just don't use anymore or that were taking up too much of my time.  

One thing I won't do is delete a profile altogether....with certain exceptions (mainly sites that I signed up for on a whim, but never really used or didn't catch on, or even required a paid membership to use).  I don't do this because there are people on those sites who I only talk to on that site because they aren't on one of the others I'm on (like friends that are on MySpace, but refuse to jump on the facebook bandwagon).  I like to keep the lines of communication open however I can. They are friends for a reason and I don't want to abandon them even if I don't use the site that they use more.

Off-line is somewhat of a different monster though.  I'm a bit of a pack-rat and tend to accumulate a lot of stuff that I just don't need.  This is an area I can agree more with the person I mentioned at the beginning.  I'm still at a time in my life when moving from place to place tends to happen quite frequently (in fact I'll be moving...somewhere....this summer) and I sometimes need to have less stuff in order to move easier and not take up more space than is needed.  Plus, just having more stuff than I need is a waste. If I'm not using something anymore (clothes, books, etc), then I need to either throw it out or give it to people who have a use for it.

Where do you stand on all of this?  Is there clutter in your life that needs clearing? Something you need to detox from? Let me know down below.  Also, check out today's (April 20th) entries from miner_beth and alanlastufka for more discussion on this.

And if my BEDA buddies (or anyone else who reads this, aka my unofficial BEDA buddies) could leave some suggestions or demands for things/topics to blog about, I'd much appreciate it! Thanks y'all!
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Today was awesome because Dr. Noise uplaoded a new Trock (Time-lord rock...Doctor Who themed music) song on youtube that you can check out here

Is it possible I've gone this long without talking about books? I say that as if I talk about books a lot normally (which I don't) or like I didn't just have a book themed post last week. Anyways...I was inspired today by the book fair going on at my church (or rather the school that the church runs) and a friends post about books. So, I thought I'd talk about some books I've been reading/want to read and what I think makes for a good book (similar to last week's post but not).

First of all, I'm glad I decided not to do the 50 book challenge (or even the 25 book one) for the year, because I'd be horribly failing it right now. It took me about 3 months to finish Watership Down although that was mostly because the first part of it was kind of slow and I was mostly reading just before bed.  Watership Down really is a well written story and the slow parts weren't like the slow parts in Lord of the Rings (at least to me) where there was a lot of description that I didn't think helped the story. I really felt as if I was following a bunch of rabbits on an epic journey and could see the world (even their underground runs) from their point of view.  It also helps once you're far enough into it to start understanding the rabbit language and don't have to keep turning to the appendix to figure out what's going on. I think I'll get to the sequel once I get through the few books waiting to be read.

I don't think it will take me as long though with the rest of the books I want to read this year. I've already read through more than a third of The Shack and I'm at parts now where I'm thinking about what's being said and wanting to underline stuff (though I haven't yet...I've just dog-earred a few pages).  I think that is part of what makes a book good. I understand those who think you should respect a book and not dog-ear it or write in it or bend the spine, but in my opinion those are things that show that you really like the book. It shows that there are things inside that you think are important or worth going back to. If it's your own copy, it's yours to do with what you want. The library copy is there for others (not just you) and should be respected a whole lot more so that many more others can enjoy it for years to come.

Another mark of a good book for me is if it has something to say, like a theme about life, people, or important ideas. Some books may not appear to be saying much unless you are reading them critically and looking beyond the story/characters, and others really are just for enjoyment without saying much of anything at all.  Both are nice to read, but those with something to say will be remembered far longer than those that are just written for entertainment/sales sake.

So now I guess I'll list a few of the books I have lined up to read. Hopefully I'll get to at least one more before this month is over.
1)  Looking for Alaska (re-read)
2) Watchmen (wanted to read it before I go see it, even if it's on DVD by then)
3) BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker (it's his first mainstream book, and one of the most personal for him according to his blog
4) Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-air (non-fiction)
5) Sinner (another by Dekker, which is the last of a trilogy which is part of the larger Books of History/Circle series)
6) the YA series by Dekker (part of the same series)
7) The Chronicles of Narnia
8) Suite Scarlett
9) 13 Little Blue Envelopes
10) Let It Snow

....and that's all I can remember off the top of my head. I don't have all of those in my possesion yet and that's not a set order I want to read them in, just the order they came to mind.

What are some of the books you're reading or have read so far or are planning to read?  What do you think makes a book worth reading or re-reading?

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Today was awesome because of key lime meringue pie. Simple as that, haha! I'm thinking maybe I should have chosen something more interesting for you all at the end of these. Any suggestions?

Hello beard lovers....er, wait! What? Explanation in the video below.


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Today was awesome becuase I was home alone for a while which meant I could film a few clips for some friends and then do this.

If you'd like to make your own video featuring wheezywaiter in the alanlastufka-location, go check this out.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I had a vague idea I threw out earlier, but it might have just been because of he mood I was in.  But I made the commitment to write something everyday so we'll see where this goes. I'm sorry if the quality of this one stinks. I'll make up for it, I hope.

I guess basically what I wanted to say is that from time to time there are things that we have say goodbye to or let go of.  This could be anything from things you used to do as a kid that you've grown out of (though I believe there are some parts of being a kid that you should never let go), or a friendship that just isn't working out, or moving out of a city that you've lived in all your life.  It hurts to let go of all of these things. We -- especially packrats and sentimental people like me -- want to hold on to these things for as long as we can even if they are not beneficial to us anymore or are keeping us from moving on to bigger and better things. Sometimes it's because the thing itself has memories attached to it and we forget that the memories aren't in the thing itself but rather in our heads.  As physical beings though we like to have the thing (or person or place) with us where we can experience it with our senses.

I'm trying to let go of something currently. I just don't know how to go about it.  Maybe I can just end this right here and ask you few that read this for advice on letting go and moving on? Again, I apologize for this being so lame. I just don't have it in me to explore the thoughts that go with this. Any advice is helpful. If you don't have any how about some questions from my un-official BEDA buddies? Or some topics to cover in the future?  

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Today was awesome because I'm caught up on Lost and Firefly, went to a country fair at my church, and am now going to watch Serenity.

I "borrowed" this topic from a friends blog from today (Semi-BEDA buddy? :-p).  Ok, so the title is only semi-true. I really am not that accident prone but most of the "serious" injuries have been from not so serious things.  That is if you don't count my car crash in 2003, and if you consider that from about 4th or 5th grade til sometime in high school I liked to jump from the roof of my house and yet never got any injuries from that.

The first instance of these silly injuries was told in my first BEDA post, so go read that if you haven't already, and then come back for some more silly injury stories.....Go ahead, I'll still be here when I you get back. Don't have anything or anyone to distract me (although that'd be a nice problem to have).

The next instance happened maybe a few years later when we were back in the states and my sister and I went to the sort of "day care" at the rec center.  On the day in question we were just playing randomly in the gym there with whatever toys we could get our hands on.  At some point I find a hula hoop, but instead of using it like most kids would I decided it would be fun to try and use it like a jump rope. That went fine for a while, until I tried to be a bit more adventurous and run/skip while "jumping rope" like I'd seen someone do before. That was my big mistake. As I was going to show one of the leaders what I could do I ended up tripping on the hula hoop and falling face first. Lucky for my face that I shot my arms out in front to break my fall. Not so lucky for my right arm, which broke instead of my face (way to take one for the team, arm!). Thus ends story number two.

The next 2 aren't as interesting stories but are worth mentioning for their triviality (if that makes sense).  #3) I don't even remember when it happened except that it was most likely sometime in the mid 90's because I know we were at the Alcan house. I was on the couch sitting in a "prayer position" (I don't know how else to describe it) except I wasn't really praying -- though looking back, maybe if I had been this wouldn't have happened. I leaned forward for some reason or another and then gravity took over and slammed my face (the eye region in particular) right into the hardwood coffee table, leaving me with a black eye.  I don't think I even tried to cover it up with a lie about getting into a fight or saving someone else or something exciting like that.  Guess that makes me a good kid and makes up for not praying in the first place? haha

#4) In high school my first job was at Great American Steakhouse. I started out as a dishwasher, but after a few months they trusted me with Appetizer prep which was basically making salads and various other easy appetizers or side dishes.  One of my duties included removing the potatoes from the oven.  Doesn't sound too hard or dangerous, right? Apparently that's not the case, though. The oven mitts used to remove the sheet the potatoes were on (which was about 3x2 feet) were long enough to cover pretty much my whole forearm and that's usually enough. Except this day. The sheet slipped and left me with a small burn right around the bend in my arm. It probably actually looked worse than it was, but the "scar" from it was still visible a few years later. I just looked now and couldn't even find where exactly it used to be, so you'll just have to take my word for it that this happened.  And to be honest the grease burn my sister got a few years ago on her hand from when she worked at Arby's was much worse.

**edit**So, I just remembered one more silly accident from my childhood that I intended to put in here but forgot about.  It was sometime between #2 and #3.  I was playing out in front of the house (when we lived on Duke Snider) on my Ninja Turtle skateboard. Only, once again, I was using it the wrong way by riding it on my belly. This was going fine until I decided to go in the direction of our neighbor's house whose yard is separated from ours by some sorta large stones...and not the round smooth type either. One of them just happened to jump out in front of me (or I ended up rolling in it's direction...I'll let you decide which version you like better) and met up with my mouth. I don't remember if there was blood or just swelling but needless to say I was fairly embarrassed. **/edit**

Well, those are a few of my injury stories. So what have we learned today? Pray more, don't follow friends into the woods if they have a full bladder, and don't use toys for other than their intended use.

What are some of your worst injuries and how did you get them?

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Today was awesome because I got some away time by going up to Las Cruces and just chill, reading "The Shack" (which has just gotten to the good part...nothing "controversial" yet though) and jamming to music.

First of all, some good news. I'm in a much better mood today. Thanks for the positive comments and advice and such! Much appreciated.  Just noticed it's just after 11 and I have no idea what to write about. I'm surprised I've made it this far into the month. It hasn't always been exciting, but I'm not gonna give up. I've quit so many other things in my life that it's ridiculous. In fact since at this point I'm just rambling to fill space until I figure out a topic, I'll just make that my topic.

Things I've quit over the course of my life:

* cub scouts -- I started from the bottom in Tiger Cubs when we were still stationed in Germany. I don't remember much from back then except for making a pine cone Christmas ornament.  When we came back to the states I kept going with it and made some good friends from my "pack" most of whom kept going through the upper ranks and a few of whom I still talk to occasionally.  I kinda wish I had stayed with it, but I think it just became a time thing. I was involved with other things by the time I was in Weblos that I had to decide what I wanted to stick with more.

* cello -- In fifth grade my elementary school had an orchestra program taught by a woman who also taught at a few other schools.  I decided why not give it a try. It looked like fun and would be the start of my foray into the arts. I was assigned the cello and I actually liked it. I rented one of the school instruments b/c there was no way we could afford one of my own...and considering the fact that I eventually quit, it would have been a bad investment.  I would have stuck with it if it hadn't been for the practice logs. I just wasn't practicing enough to be serious about it. I think quitting this was more of a teacher or parent decision but still I guess it had to be done. I was destined to be a band geek rather than an orch dork anyways. :-p

* piano -- This started sometime after cello, and I honestly don't remember why I started on this. All I know is the piano player (the choir director's wife) was giving lessons and I for some reason started taking them.  Of all the instruments I've gone through I kinda wish I'd stuck with this one. Again though, I just wasn't practicing enough and had to give it up =/

* gymnastics -- I think it might have been my sister that started this first, but I vaguely recall possibly doing a little bit when we were in Germany.  Either way, I started this sometime around 5th grade I think...maybe later...and ended up quitting maybe that same year.  I think a part of it might also have had to do with getting "banned" from the rec. center for a fight in which I through a chair at someone (not in gymnastics, but I do recall not getting along with one of the girls at one point).  Either way, it just wasn't meant to be.

* karate -- I started this because one of dad's friends at work said that doing martial arts helped his kid with asthma (ya, in case y'all didn't already know, I have asthma, but it's kinda mild now....maybe the karate among other things actually helped), and we thought it was worth a try.  Also, I think it may have been just after getting past my getting into fights stage (aka elementary school). No real interesting stories here, but it was fun to say it was something I tried. I don't even think I leveled up past white belt but I gave it my best.  Quitting this may have been more of a money thing if I'm right. I don't remember too much here.

*basketball & baseball -- This was around middle school. Baseball was a non-school team, and basketball was for the JV team at my middle school. Granted, I never really quit these. I did try out for both though. I just didn't make the cuts. For softball, despite Dad's help I just wasn't coordinated enough to be good at it.  For basketball, it was the asthma that kept me from making the cuts. It slowed me down to much to be useful.  I did feel somewhat accomplished tho for even having the guts to try.

* band -- To date, this is the one thing I stuck with for more than a few months or years. Just before 7th grade, my older sister Holly passed down two trombones to us that she wasn't using anymore. We started taking lessons from one of the local music stores, Kurtland-Salzman and then I signed up for band class that fall.  I was one of the few that already knew what instrument I was going to play while most of the others tried out on other instruments and were assigned what they would possibly be playing for the next few years (if they didn't end up quitting like I had been in the habit of doing by this time).  Though I never got really good at playing, this was the one thing in my life I think I stuck with the longest.  I kept up with this all the way up til about 3 years into college, and I kinda wanna go back to it some day. For the most part I still remember how to play and I still have the instruments so it's a possibility. We'll see. Maybe I'll even give y'all a taste some day in a YT vid ;-)

* I could include various classes and "gifted and talented" programs throughout my years in school, but I'm getting kinda tired now and there's not much to say about this except for a brief mention. If you want to know more just ask though.

Or maybe I'm deciding to quit this topic now so I can add it to the list :-p  Either way, I think this has been long enough to sufficiently bore you all, so good night and thanks for reading!  What are some things you have or haven't stuck with? Why did you end up quitting or what made you stick with it?

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Today was awesome as most Wednesdays are because of AWANAs and Lost.  And today I can add on $5 pizza to that! Good day =D (as evidenced by the excessive smileys in this post, lol)