over and out

i'm preaching life
i'm preaching thought
because i see it all around me as it struggles to unfold
on a world born afraid
i don't need science nor reason
to calculate what's here inside
no answers won, no questions asked
will chase this feeling away

i know about hate
i've been in love
and i've seen everyone around me close their eyes
and turn to stone
i've seen hope in disguise
well i'm not trying to save your soul
i don't wanna show direction
i don't wanna take control
i've been a lie
i've told a lie
but i'm trying to get it better each day i try

life shot in the vein
pumped in the heart
awakening my soul
knocked down
kicked in the face
and shown the easy path is the hardest way down

i'm drawn to one conclusion that no one really understands anything
we're all grinding gears and don't know which way is up
once the soul is dead the mind ain't far away




i dont really blog much anymore. my parting words to whoever stumbles upon this.

fire!

so many homes were lost last weekend. over 20,000 people evacuated from diamond bar. twin engines were flying over our apartment all day making the windows rattle. it was a sight to behold seeing the enormous dc-10 flying in circles above our city. it was massive.

Scion Night @ Halloween Haunt

Yesterday, me and my coworkers all went to the Scion Event at Knott's Scary Farm. The deal is, the first 2000 Scions that arrive get in for free (including all belted passengers) and they have a giant show all day until the park opens at 7. So we all met at Applebees at 930 in the morning and drove down. We werent allowed to wait in line until 1 so we decided to go down to Huntington and eat fish tacos. The air was so clear and dry from the Santa Ana winds, you could see Catalina perfectly.
Anyways, we drove back around 1230 and they let us in. It was insane the amount of Scions driving around Buena Park. There were thousands of them everywhere you looked. Parked at gas stations, driving the streets. Even when we left Walnut i saw more than i normally saw. There were people trying to get in all day.
We all hung out at got food and partied in the parking lot and even my old coworkers from Barros were randomly parked a car away from us. It was fun seeing all of the different xBs and tailgating all day and blasting music.
Later more of our coworkers came down that didnt own Scions after it got dark and we all had a blast going on the rides, the mazes and getting scared all night.

I'm bummed this is the last year they are doing this event but I'm glad I got to go at least once.

here are some pictures i found on the forum i use. I didnt take them but its basically what our day was like.

i hate to say it

last night i was watching comedy central and I caught the last 30 minutes of the movie Waiting. it intrigued me. I was completely astounded by what I saw.

I've heard some of my coworkers say that Waiting is the best movie ever and that I should see it. yadda yadda.

So I bought it off of iTunes tonight. And yes, watching the movie is as close as you can get to working at Applebees. Every single scene of the movie is what Applebees has been like. Every actor is someone I know or knew. Every line, every joke, every party scene, everything. The testicle pranks, the underage hostesses, even the "quit whining and join army" I've been there. I've seen people drop food on the ground and tell me to pick it up but I have always thrown away anything that touches the ground. I take pride in my expo shifts. It wouldn't surprise me that others wouldn't. Nevertheless, I'm sad to say that Waiting is, in fact, a mirror image of working in a chain restaraunt.


My favorite scene of the whole movie is where all of the cooks are watching the clock count down until closing hour, like it's new years eve. And then they get one last order two minutes before. I cant tell you how many times I've been there. From Renatos to Barros to Thats Amore to Applebees. It BLOWS.


No grade.

was once brown is now red

i havent posted anything in a month i think. this should be lengthy. and in no particular order.

everyone, say hello to Raining Red, my new/oldest band.
















How can a band be new and old at the same time you might ask? Well Devin is in there. And so is Alex Rodriguez, our constant Code Brown fill-in for bass and guitar when Devin and Eric began to work in high school (he basically became a full-time Code Brown member after he printed a t-shirt with Devin's face on it with the text "MISSING" that he wore to shows he played). The last is Chin, the asian guy who hung out with us all throughout high school. Is it Code Brown? No. I wrote the majority of songs for Code Brown, and this time I would really like for Devin, Alex and Jason to put their creativity into high gear considering it's their band, I'm only joining and doing what I can to fabricate their ideas into something good. I want all of the satisfaction after recording to go to them.
Its strange for me to go from playing in a high caliber band like Tiefighter, one that was constantly booking tours, studio time and had an acute sense of how to write songs that people would always get into, to playing in a garage band again. With guys who never play shows and have never assimilated themselves with a scene. But then again, it's extremely liberating. Just to head over to so-and-so's garage and jam for an hour or two and be stoked about what we came up with.

We posted two demo songs on our myspace. The first, "when earth became sky" is a song i wrote for Raining Red. I recorded it in my bedroom with my computer. I synthesized the drums and I honestly think that it's one of the most well rounded songs I have ever written. I love the way the lyrics punctuate themselves to the different tones each riff takes. I'll post the lyrics.


"with eyes locked out on the horizon,
your hand in mine, we waited for the flash

whats happening to our modern west romance?
a simple, celluloid tragedy on edge
of everything that we've ever hoped for
and everything we were ever promised
I feel the future bearing down on me
one I don't want, one I don't need
so I run anywhere
so I run nowhere

with eyes locked out on the horizon
your hand in mine, we watched the world collapse
"we're not going to make it, are we?"
you asked but you knew
that we'd blow apart like leaves

and I cant grasp this moment
your blue dress, the ocean
the overwhelming sense of urgency
that this will be the last chance
to tell you that I wanted more
than what Sumerians planned for
a future, a life with you

with eyes locked out on the horizon
your hand in mine, we waited for the blast
"we're not going to make it, are we?"
you asked but you knew
that we'd blow apart like leaves"

I bet you cant guess what movie inspired it. If you cant, the little breakdown in the middle of the song should tip you off right off.

The second song, My Downfall, was written by the rest of the guys. I just re-did the vocals.

Go check them out at www.myspace.com/rainingred1


School is going well. Math is math and math is hard work. Swimming is great, I cant believe how fast I can swim using only my arms because of all the surfing. Photoshop is fun because Ruth is in it, I like talking to her during lab. And my english class, I'll have to record the lecture because my professor is, hands down, the funniest one I've ever had.

I still love my xB. I take the long way to work just to drive it as much as I can. I've put 2000 miles on it since I bought it : X I wipe the bugs off the front every time I find one and I park in a spot at work that I can see from the video cameras on the Expo Line. Total new car syndrome.

Cant wait to see you guys!

yuck

I forgot to mention this and I'm not sure if you've heard, but they will most likely be building a new Los Angeles Football stadium and bringing a team in for it. Where will it be you might be wondering? The hills directly above our apartments. The plans are in full swing and it's expected to begin it's development this year. It's rumored to be completed by 2011.




























Scope the map out. it will be off of Grand avenue, directly built into the hills behind the old Honda dealership and Burger King off of the 60 freeway. The background in the drawing is the hills of Hacienda and outward stretching southeast LA as viewed from Grand Ave. The third picture is what I can make out from the video as it's precise location. Total bummer.

I am not happy about it. The 60/57 interchange is hell as it is, there will be fireworks and noise constantly coming from it and I'm pretty sure we'll see a huge increase in crime. I'll move if they bring the Raiders in.

The only good I can see from it is if I'm still here, it will pretty much secure serving jobs for me.

check out www.losangelesfootballstadium.com for more info and a video.

swim class

So one of the classes I enrolled in for fall is a beginning swim class. I'm not sure how in shape I am with actual swimming because of all of the surfing I do, my friend Ron says "if you're not swimming, you're not surfing" (in regards to not wearing a leash and losing your board back to shore) but I didn't want to enroll in the intermediate classes and die.

Anyways, I thought the instructor was Marc Ruh, the Mt. Sac water polo coach. I checked back today and sure enough, it's Lani Ruh, my old high school coach (and Marc's wife). Gross. I've got a fat belly, I'll probably drown, and I'm sure she still remembers me quitting the varsity team a month into the season to ditch sixth period and hang out with Lindsay every day. Pretty awkward.

I'm going to stick with it though. The swim class is right before my math class. And in high school I had water polo right before first period math and that was the year I aced the class. I think chlorine and a good breakfast really makes a difference in one's ability to concentrate and retain information.