Ahmadinewhackjobs

Earlier this week the Iranian president visisted the campus of Columbia university. It's hard to believe that an Ivy League campus would welcome a delusional foreign dictator, especially one who is so bent against American interests. At the same time, I guess it's not considering the times we live in. There were the typical responses to the furor stirred up by his presence by liberal morons, e.g. we invited him to expose his insanity to the world, or in the interest of academic debate, but that's completely ridiculous. Why would you even give an audience to someone so far off base? One university dean even went so far as to say that if Hitler were alive, of course he would invite him to speak. How can people not understand how awful and just plain stupid that is?

Anyway, some interesting reading. These are short articles, and frankly, I'm disappointed that more of you don't follow the links to these articles that I post. This is really important stuff people! It's worth knowing and exploring more fully. In any case, here is an article by Michelle Malkin, and here is another by Victor Davis Hanson. Malkin is a great conservative voice, and Hanson is probably one of the most intelligent conservative thinkers. Both provide great insight into the issue.

Humor Is Funny

I like the extent that some people will go to make a joke. For example, this video that was passed on to me yesterday:



And then I had dinner with some friends Sunday night and among them was Nick. He and some other dorks we knew at BYU are living in Huntington Beach and they created this website to publicize a funny guy game, SmashPong.

I love hyperbole as humor. I was just having lunch at In-N-Out and there was a long wait of course. Then I overheard some guys seated nearby who were older, that looked very professional judging by their attire and over the speaker the worker blurts out, "order #39!" To which one of the men responds with, "39!? I'm like order 14,000! Great!" Just made me laugh. Something else that Greg and I used to do was grossly understate everything. For example:

Greg: Oh yeah, I'm going to be making a ton of money this summer. I'm really stoked about it.
Me: Oh yeah, like how much? like 1...maybe even 2 dollars an hour?
Greg: No better. More like 50-75 cents as a base, and then commission on top of that.

It sounds kind of dumb, but I promise you, it's really funny if the person you're doing with is committed to being completely ridiculous in his/her responses to you.

As a sidenote, I'm reading the most interesting book in the whole world, Progress Paradox. It's so up my alley, but the premise basically is that the author writes about how life in almost every respect is better than it ever has been, but people actually feel worse than previous generations. So interesting. One of these days I'll post some of the stuff that he mentions.

TV Is Back

I am feeling ambivalent with the return of the TV season. On one hand, I love the shows, but on the other...I hate being tied up. I even have tivo and the people I watch with all seem to have tivo too, but it still cuts into time which, lately, I just can't seem to find enough of. It started on Monday with:

I actually wanted to catch Journeyman afterwards, but I forgot that I was feeling that and didn't bother recording it. Heroes, however, did not disappoint. So it begins again with the very first episode - tons of questions, and so many new plotlines. I love it. I'm trying to limit myself to just two nights a week. Next up is Must See TV Thursdays with Earl, The Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock. If you dirtbags don't watch 30 Rock and keep it on the air, I will punch every single one of you in the stomach. It is high-larious. I wonder how the Office will do with Pam and Jim finally going out. Part of the intrigue is the chase, even for the audience. I feel like these shows that kind of thrive on the romance between two people, who, for various cannot get together seem to lose their punch once they actually get together. Or, in order to keep things interesting, they go through tons of trials and ultimately break-up, and in the end you don't really want that either. So hopefully it maintains its lofty standard. Is Karen not going to be back? I kind of loved Karen. I think all guys did. She was hot and cool, but I feel like a lot of girls don't like her just because she's not Pam. Anyway...enough about The Office.

And, as I'm sure you've been dying to talk about, the Raiders finally won on Sunday. McCown got hurt enough that he was taken out of the game and Culpepper came in and managed the game enough to secure a win for the Silver and Black. He was good, but not spectacular, which is fine. We just need someone who isn’t going to spoil potential wins, e.g. week 1 vs. the Lions, and week 2 vs. the Broncos. The Angels won the AL West on Sunday and the wonderful Caitlin managed to secure us tickets for Game 2 of the Divisional Series against whomever it is that we get paired up with. Are you proud of me? Greg gave me the best and most simple explanation for usage of ‘who’ and ‘whom’. Just ask the question, who(m) is the subject? He is, or him, or whatever the case may be. Now another question…is ‘may’ and ‘be’ always paired up together when juxtaposed? like in that last sentence. I feel like not always, but I’m not sure about that.

The other night I had dinner over at Amy’s and she had a friend over, Ranya. She was recently transplanted from England and her accent is SO thick. I love it. I felt like every time she was talking like it was a joke, or we were in a movie or something because it was just so English. And she referred to the Queen’s English, as “proper English,” not like British or any other way you would think of labeling English English. So maybe I should ask her since she speaks proper English and I seem to be unfamiliar with the rules of my own first language.

Jena 6

I'm a little late to this story, but because I just posted last week about Donovan McNabb's comments about football and race I thought I'd visit another racial hot topic. For a good analysis you can read this article that gives a pretty thorough treatise of the different elements, as well as tells a complete story about the incidents in question. This article is commentary from one of this nation's most thoughtful conservatives, Thomas Sowell. Both authors are black, which gives good perspective on the issues at hand.

Obviously tensions are high in Louisiana. The south really just seems like a throwback to a different world and time when it comes to race relations, among other things. I've never visited there, but that is the sentiment I get from reading about these kinds of stories and from what I've heard from other people. My only comments on this issue goes back to what I had mentioned last week about Dr. Drew's thoughts on parenting, "bring the consequences to bear." It should have been resolved when the white kids hanged the nooses on the 'white tree,' but at the same time it should also be noted that the Jena 6 should not be absolved of their wrongdoing because some other kids were idiots. There is no justification for beating a kid unconscious, and then stomping on him, no matter what the circumstances are. It is irresponsible to demand freedom for the Jena 6 just because nothing happened to the kids who hanged the nooses. Sowell notes a drastic, and potentially catastropic, consequence to circumventing the criminal justice system.

Muse At The Verizon

This video is from when they played in Austin, but the stage is the same and basically the same show. You guys have no idea how utterly amazing this show was. I mean seriously, top 3 of my favorite concerts of all time. The thing is about this kind of concert too is that it's so different than all of the other stuff that I attend.

We were back in adventure mode with no tickets before pulling up to the venue. We walked up and found a dude offering tickets for $60 a piece. This felt steep given that the face value was $32. To tell you the truth, we didn't ask as many people as we probably should have about if they had any extra tickets to sell. However, he did have good seats and being that our group was 4, it was going to be hard anyway to find someone getting rid of that many tickets all together. So we paid it, but knowing what I know now, I would have paid double that. The seats were really, really good and the show was mind-blowing.

Upon entering the venue I pulled out the contents of my pockets. The woman checking what I had in my pockets poked at my hand and asked what 'that' was. Thinking she was referring to the pen I always have on hand because that was a problem before at another show, I was like, that's a pen. But then I noticed she was pointing at my keys, more specifically, to the vial of consecrated olive oil. All of the sudden I felt way self-conscious because I tried just telling her it was a vial, then she wanted more specifics, so I finally told her exactly what it was. I don't know why, but it just felt really funny. I guess I was just embarrassed to be put on the spot, but cool at the same time to think how unusal that must sound to someone not in the church, that I hold the priesthood and can bless the sick. Anyway...

The opening band was Juliette Lewis and the Licks, who sucked more than licked. You might recognize her from such films as Starsky and Hutch - she plays Vince Vaughn's girlfriend. Yeah...their music was weird and had nothing catchy or interesting about any of it, but it was funny to see a movie star in a band with her weird vocals and stage presence. Props to her though for even pursuing that avenue, even if I didn't care at all for the crap they produced. On to the main event...

Muse opened with Knights of Cydonia. Awesome. I can't remember the next one, but then Hysteria came on and I just couldn't believe how freakin' good they were in show. Those first 3 or 4 songs were just unreal. So much energy and they were just so cool. They would do a spotlight on Matthew Bellamy as he would do solos. He had on a red suit and he just had such a cool presence. I love when the lead singer carries with him the most energy and a ton of charisma. It was just so cool. There aren't enough words to describe just how good they were. They sounded great, but I think what I dug on the most that you won't get anywhere else is just hearing them rock out and build upon the original song. It had such a raw sound to it with their heavily distorted guitars. It was just so awesome. Great visual effects. Everything about it was so good.

I had heard they were really good live, but was not at all prepared for just how amazing they would be. And I'm not completely in love with all of their music, but even the stuff that I don't necessarily love, I thought was SO GOOD live. It was a really cool experience. Toward the end of the show he was playing and during one solo he just kicked over a big speaker. You see that on TV or something like that and it just looks silly, but with all that energy it just felt like so natural to see him do that and all I could think to myself was, "hell yeah, kick some more stuff!" The whole night was so cool. We didn't even have to deal with the rain that was forecast for the evening. And I had some great company, just good times all around. I couldn't have been more pleased about the evening. I have literally thought several times since the show, "was it really as good as I remember it?" It certainly was.

Lecture Of A Lifetime

This is probably one of the coolest things I've come across in some time. This is the Wall Street Video of the story, and then you can actually read the article here, or watch the full lecture here. The lecture is by Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie-Melon who has terminal pancreatic cancer. It is poignant. Just a great story and message that deserves at least a little of your time.

Ladies And Gentlemen, Demetri

Dave turned me onto him a while ago...I just felt like posting this. I don't have time for a real post because I'll be visiting some properties today, so here you go.

Haiku For Breakfast Love

Warm sausage goodness;
Buttery, flakiness feeds.
Empty stomach, gone.

You know what the worst part about this is? As I was doing a ridiculous internet search at work to find an image of a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit from Jack in the Box, I found the nutritional information for it and it has 55 grams of fat and 740 calories. DAMMIT! So I could either have 4 snickers bars for breakfast, or a Western Bacon Cheeseburger and it would be about the same as having this breakfast sandwish…but it’s so dang good.

More Thinking Out Loud

How is the new layout working out for everyone? Is everything visible? Does it look alright? I’ve been looking at other templates and was going to make a change for a while, but then I started playing around with the html editor and this is all I really wanted anyway. I think I might be changing some of the colors and stuff. Lately for posting jobs I’ve been picking up a little on basic html code and it’s been fun. I actually would like to learn how to build web pages sometime. Any tips on where or how to start learning? Anyways…

I didn’t mention anything about our game the other night because it really wasn’t exciting. We won, but we should have killed them. When you’re playing in a B-league with older dudes, you feel like you should be racking on the other teams like 10-0 every game. But last night at the church was SO MUCH fun, for me at least. My team just had perfect chemistry the whole time. It’s funny how certain things like this give me so much pleasure. I can’t tell you how much I just love when my team is on, or when I’m just on and we score sweet goals and all it is is just kicking a ball at a trash can inside of the church with my friends. Or how great it feels to crank on that whiffle ball and see it hit the beachfront properties and I get a point for a home run because my ball passed an arbitrary line that we drew in the sand. I really dig on that stuff though, it’s kinda funny.

I think the phrase,”nut up,” is funny. You figure it out.

Have you heard all the fuss about Donovan McNabb? He made some comments about how it’s harder for black quarterbacks in the NFL. I know I’m not black so what I say doesn’t have much relevance to that topic, but I think it’s contrived. Okay…so I don’t know what it’s like to be made so conscious of my race every single day, but I think a lot of it is self-inflicted. The more you talk about your blackness, the more people will notice it and the more divisions it creates. I think it was Morgan Freeman who made a similar point about how we will never get over racial inequality so long as we keep on talking about the things that divide us, such as color. I think celebrating diversity and heritage is great, but often it seems to come at the expense of unity and harmony. And no matter how he said his comments, Donovan still comes off as whiny because he’s even bringing it up. That’s how it appears at least to a person who isn’t in a similar position, i.e. me.

There was something else I wanted to mention, but I can’t think of it now. I still really love those pirate jokes. I thought more people would be excited about that. I really hope you’re all doing well. I don’t know where that came from, but I really feel it. I’m intensely interested in your success and it’s so cool to hear about your promotions, good grades, and the like. Sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Anyway, that’s it for now.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Well...another reason to love the fall - it's International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Who was the genius who decided to spread this one around because he/she has got to really feel good about getting everyone on board with this one. What may have just been a joke 10 years ago is something that I now look forward to, as long as I'm reminded of it. For anyone else who's interested, yesterday was Chilean Independence Day. And September 11th in Chile is when they mourn Pinochet's atrocities and decide to wreck the city. No joke. We were allowed to proselyte or even go outside on September 11th...anyways...to celebrate talk like a pirate day, I'm including some good old fashioned pirate humor, because ye know how a surly pirate always likes a good laugh! Yarrrrr!!!

One of my favorite things about these jokes is doing it in a pirate's voice...

Do you know where my buccaneers are? On the side of me buccan-head! Yarrrrrrr!

What does a dyslexic pirate say? RRRRRRRAAAAAAA!!!

What does a retarded pirate say? NNNNNNYYYYYYAAAAA!!!!

Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the waves, a captain and his crew were in danger of being boarded by a pirate ship. As the crew became frantic, the captain bellowed to his First Mate, "Bring me my red shirt!". The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt, which the captain put on and lead the crew to battle the pirate boarding party. Although some casualties occurred among the crew, the pirates were repelled.

Later that day, the lookout screamed that there were two pirate vessels sending boarding parties. The crew cowered in fear, but the captain calm as ever bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt!". The battle was on, and once again the Captain and his crew repelled both boarding parties, although this time more casualties occurred.

Weary from the battles, the men sat around on deck that night recounting the day's occurrences when an ensign looked to the Captain and asked, "Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before the battle?". The Captain, giving the ensign a look that only a captain can give, exhorted, "If I am wounded in battle, the red shirt does not show the wound and thus, you men will continue to fight unafraid". The men sat in silence marveling at the courage of such a man.
As dawn came the next morning, the lookout screamed that there were pirate ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way. The men became silent and looked to their Captain for his usual command. The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, "Bring me my brown pants!!

What's really a pirate's favorite letter?P! Because it's an Rrrrr, but it's missing a leg!

I think this one is my favorite and I'll tell you why...when you read this, read it like it's in family guy and you have a couple of dudes dressed up as pirates, but rather than talking in pirate voices, they're just normal dudes...so Family Guy, and it's a good one too:

A pirate walks into a bar and the bartender says, "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What happened, you look terrible!"

"What do you mean?" the pirate replies, "I'm fine.

"The bartender says, "But what about that wooden leg? You didn't have that before."

"Well," says the pirate, "We were in a battle at sea and a cannon ball hit my leg but the surgeon fixed me up, and I'm fine, really."

"Yeah," says the bartender, "But what about that hook? Last time I saw you, you had both hands."

"Well," says the pirate, "We were in another battle and we boarded the enemy ship. I was in a sword fight and my hand was cut off but the surgeon fixed me up with this hook, and I feel great, really."

"Oh," says the bartender, "What about that eye patch? Last time you were in here you had both eyes."

"Well," says the pirate, "One day when we were at sea, some birds were flying over the ship. I looked up, and one of them shat in my eye."

"So?" replied the bartender, "what happened? You couldn't have lost an eye just from some bird shit!"

"Well," says the pirate, "I really wasn't used to the hook yet."

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day Everyone! YAAARRRRR!!!!

King of Kong

This is our protagonist, Steve Wiebe, the King of Kong. Yup, I saw the documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters last night at the University theater. I posted about this sometime ago and included the trailer, so I won’t bother reposting that. I really enjoyed this movie though. I’m not usually one to watch documentaries in the theater, but this one looked really funny and it was fun. NERDIEST guys ever. You have a hero and definitely a villain. The people who put together the film did a really good job of painting a picture of how seriously these guys take these things and the humor is based just on the juxtaposition of the various characters you have in the story. I think that’s what makes it so cool is that the people involved are so real and so quirky. It really is entertaining though and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is close enough to go and catch the movie.

I wanted to write about a couple of things so I guess I’ll just tack in onto this post. Something interesting I heard on Love Line the other night with Dr. Drew. They were talking about raising kids and the guy who was guest hosting asked him what he would do if he caught his kids doing drugs, or if he found out that his kid had driven home drunk. And without hesitation Drew responded that he would call the cops on his children, and in the other case if the kid had arrived home safely, he would convince that child to go back out driving and then call the police on him. He said that his job as a parent is to, “bring the consequences to bear.” This is a guy that deals with people with really messed up lives and I thought that was interesting to hear from his perspective. Bring the consequences to bear. So often you find so many parents who do the opposite of that, they ‘protect’ their kids from their own mistakes. I even read recently about a grandfather who accepted blame for his grandson’s 3 DUI crash, but this time he killed two people so now he’s going to jail.

The Raiders loss on Sunday was especially heart-breaking. But it was a step forward, I think. And you know what got me most excited? Seeing Jamarcus on the sideline, FINALLY.

One more thing…I noticed this at lunch yesterday and I do it all the time, but I wanted to bring this up for any guys who might come across this post. So I’m eating by myself at Souplantation and I’m looking at most of the guys in the restaurant and I was actually sizing them up, deciding whether or not I could take that particular person in a fight. I do this all the time, but only consciously realized what I was doing yesterday as I decided that I could beat up just about every person in the restaurant. Do you ever do that? Am I alone on this? I had been thinking about other things most of the time, but then I was looking at a particular group of guys about my age and I sized up every single one of them. I’m not big, but I have decent strength for my size, above average agility, and kind of tough. It made me laugh. I also decided I need more variety with my friends. I only seem to have white friends. I need a couple black friends, a Hispanic/latino friend, and a friend who swears all the time. I think swearing is funny.

Another one more thing…why is every movie that I want to see in the theaters rated-R? Is it in honor of international talk like a pirate day tomorrow? Yes, it’s real. I hate it. Well…I should be getting back to work. Later…

3 Shows In 24 Hours

Above is the music video for Strung Out's song Analog. It comes without the little intro on the CD, but it's alright. I wanted to post a live clip, but then when I was looking online they only have really low-quality stuff and it looks lame. It just looks dumb out of context and none of the energy is present watching a video that is there when you're actually at the show. It's completely different. I think concerts are the funnest thing in the world. It's just such a funny dynamic and energy to the whole thing.

I, of course, was exhausted post-race. I laid down on my bed, but I couldn't even take a nap. Aaron really wanted to go to this show and we had been talking about it for a good month or so now, so I didn't want to poop out. I was looking on Craig's list to try and find something that would get us floor tickets for a decent price. I called a few, but none of them were very good deals and they sold before I could decide not to purchase them. And then it happened.

Adventure mode.

Thank goodness for adventure mode. It was like a switch that turned on in me. I had been texting with Aaron debating whether or not I wanted to go. I know I tried explaining it before, but I think it's most akin to the scene in Tommy Boy where Chris Farley is talking to David Spade after he got the waitress to turn the grill back on and get him some buffalo wings. It's like that. You just kind of decide, oh the hell with it, I got a frozen pizza back in the car so what do I care if she says yes or no? I'm going to be fine one way or another so let's just go for it. So I texted Aaron and told him, 'screw it, let's just drive down to the arena and if we can't get tickets then we'll just catch a movie or something.' It's not like we were going to be missing out on anything else anyway. And he was totally game and so with no plan other than just showing up and finding some kid to buy tickets from, we went.

Within about 5 minutes of arriving to the Long Beach Arena we found a person selling tickets for below face value and we were in. Floor seats were sold out and went for $25 a piece originally; we got two at the show just as it was starting for $20 each. The lesson is this - you can ALWAYS find tickets at the venue. Why? Because there is always some person or people who bail the day of or the night before. I've done this several times to events that were sold out. One was a broadway play at the OCPAC that was sold out, Jack Johnson at the height of his popularity in Hollywood, Rufio, and now this one. I think there are one or two others. In spite of this prior experience, it still makes me nervous because you always feel like it just shouldn't be that easy. The trick is this, you just start asking everyone you see if they have extra tickets and you commit to yourself that you won't pay above face value for the tickets. You just have to be willing to talk to every person you see. The downside is that it feels kind of funny, but the upside is that you can get into ANY show. I'm sure of it. You just have to be there as it's starting and you have to be okay with talking to every stranger you see. That's it.

The show was great. There were a couple of screamer bands and then Strung Out came on. They are easily my favorite live. Aaron and I moved for the front before they got on and then when the first beat dropped there was a crazy rush to the stage that sent everyone lurching forward. Before it started I was kind of marveling to myself about how odd it was that so many young girls were up at the front by the stage. Then the crazy pushing began and they realized that they didn't belong there and things were back to normal, at least for Strung Out. I just love them to death. So fun. Lagwagon was also good, but I guess I haven't been listening to them as much because I couldn't recognize several of the songs that played and didn't know the words to the ones that I did recognize. Each of them have totally different feels to the way they play. Lagwagon is more fun and tell jokes; Strung Out is just straight up punk music with really raw energy.

Rise Against also was playing, but I just don't really know their stuff and they're too much of a screamer band for me. I wonder how many people think Strung Out is like that for them...It feels completely different to me at least. We caught a couple of songs from them, but nothing that I really knew and then we bailed. I had a ton of fun on my man-date. I was so beat by the time the night was over, but was so glad just to be out and able to take advantage of a fun weekend. I've been so busy the last couple weeks it feels like, but I've really been able to enjoy myself and that has been great.

Ran, Hit Remix

I did the Nike run yesterday with Dave, Caitlin, Mike, and a friend of Dave's from his ward, Matt. Mike served as Aaron's proxy because Aaron was testing for Costa Mesa Fire people.

Anyway...I ran the 5 miles in about 40 minutes, which isn't terrible. Considering I haven't even run a 5-miler in awhile, and then I haven't even been able to get out and run in the last couple of weeks, I felt alright about that time. Plus we partook of the musical stylings of Naughty By Nature, Sugarhill Gang, and Dawn Robinson of En Vogue along the route so maybe I could have knocked off another minute or two. Sir Mix-A-Lot was beckoning around the last turn churning out his greatest hit Baby Got Back, and even yelling out that he had donuts, beer, and weed and that we should stop running and gain weight with him, but I had to press on that last mile. Although the weed was hard to turn down.

I'm telling you, these races are really fun. They have such a cool energy about them, and then by the time you finish the race it doesn't even feel like you ran for as long or as far as you did. Thanks to Matt, I think he and I practically sprinted that last mile to try and make the 40 minutes because our pace was pretty slow the first part of the race. I totally didn't want to run as fast as he was, but I also didn't want to be left behind like a loser. It also helped bolster my self-esteem passing so many people in the end because we started out with the people on 10-11 minute mile paces. But I especially love this race because you come down into the Coliseum and are on the actual grass of the stadium, you get to run up and out of the steps. It's just all really cool. It's really fun. What was the most fun though was the post-race MC Hammer concert that followed.

Hammer was awesome. My favorite was yelling out stuff to Hammer because for every song he performed, he had some kind of silly intro. It was really funny. I kept yelling out, "Hammer, please don't hurt 'em," but I don't think anyone there realized that phrase is the title of his first record. And I couldn't really tell if he was all that serious or not because he was laughing a good amount about some of the things he'd say. And they would be things from his songs, like when a person was getting up on stage he said, "oh it's alright, he do what he wanna do, say what he wanna say, playa." So awesome.

And why are black people so dang cool? They can say, and dress, and do so many things that no one from any other race could ever get away with. I don't really have any specific examples, but I think you know what I'm talking about. My favorite song was probably 2 Legit 2 Quit. For that one, he started by yelling WE ARE! a couple of times and then did the hand gestures. When he performed it, he yell out "put it up there!" And of course, what the Reverand Hammer says, the people do.

For one of the songs, Hammer asked all West Coast Players who can Cha Cha to come up on stage with him and dance. If you'll click to enlarge on the picture at the right, you'll be able to see our buddy Kent Sommer with the sunglasses just to the right of Hammer. I think Kent and I are living parallel lives because this next week he is planning on going to Muse, and so am I. But adhering to male standard practice, I don't want to start asking him out.

And I'll close with this lovely candid of us outside of the Coliseum. Is that not a whole host of the most delicious man-meat you will ever feast your eyes upon? I challenge you to find better! I think if Greg comes across this post that picture will make him more sorry than anything else that I could have mentioned, that he wasn't able to run it. Peace everyone.

Taste Of Newport

That was my Friday evening. I just love the atmosphere that we have here in Southern California. There was an outdoor market type setup and an assortment of restaurants and vendors were there to entice my tastebuds. I didn't end up having a whole lot, but the tri-tip sandwich and Maggie Moo's ice cream that I did have were great. However, the main attraction wasn't the food.
Yup, Gods of Rock Huey Lewis and the News graced Orange County with their presence. My favorite was hearing the heart-beat-like-percussions that open up the song Heart Of Rock And Roll that beckoned me to partake of their tasty licks, and I'm talking music hear people (pun-intended). They also played such classics as Power Of Love, I Want A New Drug, and Hip To Be Square. The one song that I wanted to hear the most, If This Is It, never came on while we were there. My date and I had had enough of the HL & The News. To be honest, I feel like I was a pretty boring date. I just started last week with the normal 40 hour work week and to be honest, it really has been taking its toll on me. She was a good sport, but I felt like I wasn't much for energy that evening, so my apologies. But the food was good and it was cool starting off my weekend with Huey.

Another Headline...

I saw this on the MSN homepage:

Inmates rage after being shorted on dinner sausage

You're task is to come up with the best follow up line to that headline. I'll go first:

That's funny because you'd think with all the dessert sausage that it wouldn't be a big problem. ZING! Now you go.

First Impressions

You know what’s funny? The stuff that people disclose in interviews. Some people don’t say enough, and others just volunteer too much. For example, yesterday I had an interview with a girl and I asked her the accomplishment that she was most proud of, either personally or professionally. She decided to disclose having a kid at 14 years old, then another at 15. And then she talked about all the tattoos she has and how she thinks she might be able to cover them up. I know this is in direct contrast with what I talked about yesterday or the day before, but there are some things that you just don’t have to bring up, or should even bother to. I think the context is very important which was the case with the other gentleman, but try and avoid bringing up addictions, past arrests, illegitimate children at a really young age, and the like.

It’s always surprising to me how much I have to dumb down rules and policies of the company…it’s that whole least common denominator and having to direct your language at the dumbest person in the organization. Sometimes in orientation when I’m telling people about the company and what it expects of them, they look at me like who would ever even think of doing that sort of thing. And it’s because there are some people like the ones who don’t understand normal social conventions and think that when I ask about accomplishments they’re proud of, they need to talk about the worst things that they have ever done. First impressions people! You only have 15 minutes to impress me, or whomever it is that you’re trying to impress with your interview or statements of intent, DON”T BLOW IT! Geez…

Whatever

I wanted to post before I went to work because today I'm determined to not be a lazy sack of crap and be dinking around on the internet all day at work...so I'm trying not to post at work. With that said...I can't really think of a title yet.

Experience I hope to never have again - going to a jail to serve a restraining order. Is jail ever a place you want to go to? I think the answer is no. I've been to visit another person before and then it was to see this corksoaker and serve him the order and I just hate the feeling. You either go because someone you care about is in there, or someone you hate is in there and you have to deal with that person. It was kind of gratifying to see the guy behind bars though. He looked terrible and he was very obviously ashamed to have to see me.

We didn't get to go jet-skiing on Saturday because it went from an affordable $75 an hour to $115 an hour, plus we were chipping in for the 4th guy because it was his birthday so it was going to end up being about $150. Somehow...in my mind when I thought I would be dishing out $120 for the event that didn't seem like a bad idea, but the change in price woke us up to how expensive it really is to do this thing that lasts about an hour. But that's the thing with some of this stuff that is really awesome; maybe it doesn't last that long, but the memory is forever and you'll have a million conversations reliving the event. I vote for Medieval Times now as a replacement event, but no one took me seriously. I think it would be fun, would be more affordable, and wives could come along and have fun too. Takers? Everytime I mentioned it they all looked at me like I was an idiot.

That same day we decided to take advantage of the time together and play whiffleball again, which I LOVE. So fun. But while trying to find a place that sold the stuff because we didn't come prepared to play, we saw a dad wearing BYU paraphenalia, as well as his children. One of the kids didn't have a shirt on and was concerned (he was probably about 5). And then his dad says, "you don't need a shirt, you're a freaking stud." We all thought it was high-larious. Is that funny for the first time hearer of the story? Not sure...but it was great.

I interviewed a guy yesterday and he was formerly an alcoholic and drug addict. It amazes me how honest these kind of people can be when it comes to their past. And open. I just can't imagine having such a serious problem and telling someone about it and looking them in the eye and know that it is what it is and you just can't tuck it away in some corner. Does that make sense? And I've spoken with a few people and the ones who have actually confronted and overcome their demons are always the same - very open, and talk about it unflinchingly. I think it's a sign of penitence and it just amazes me. I think it's remarkable and I have the utmost respect for someone who has confronted something so traumatic and overcome that trial, even if it was their own doing.

That's what I was thinking about the last couple days. I want to do an 9/11 post. Have you guys actually read anything about General Petraeus' report on Iraq earlier in the week? I wonder what spin you've heard. Anyway...That name would work perfectly for a Rock Me Amadeus email to Ralph, Caitlin. I feel like they've had to use that already...

My Thoughts As I Screen Resumes

I’ve been posting ads for the jobs that we have available in our company and it really is ridiculous how many people want to be an administrative assistant. I have 8 postings up right now for different jobs that we have available and I’m getting about 50 resumes a day right now that I have to sort through. You ever hear that people usually take about 30 seconds to 1 minute to look over your resume? I would say that might even be an exaggeration. When I first heard that I thought it had to be too short, but now that I have to screen them and try and find the best applicants I try and go through them as quickly as I possibly can because I have so much other crap to do now. I HATE when people have long-winded resumes.

But I digress…it’s about 2:1 to the amount of people that apply for admin asst. positions. This has always been the case in my experience. And it’s not just limited to women, but to men. EVERYONE wants these jobs. I think it has to do with the idea that people think it’s something where all you have to do is file a few things, write a few emails, put in your time and then you can go home. I guess you just don’t realize how competitive it really is for these kinds of jobs.

Unless you are an engineering, computer science, or some sort of business major, if you’re making more than 35k a year out of school you are the exception. I thought that was crazy at first, but seeing the amount of applicants that I do with the background that they have, a lot of these people who you think should be getting more money are applying for our $12-15 an hour jobs. Isn’t that crazy? I guess for social science and liberal arts people it comes down to the fact that we’re not really actually trained with any marketable skills. Sure…critical analysis and writing are important, but not exclusive to our fields, or at least not in short supply. So if you’re thinking of graduating in sociology or anthropology just to graduate…you might want to reconsider what actual skills and experience you are bringing to the marketplace because the real world might not want to pay you what you think you deserve.

Ahhh...Sports

So last night we started an outdoor soccer league. It is a 7v7 B league and Dave and I are playing with a bunch of dudes that we knew growing up. And you know those older guys who take their insignificant grown-up sports way too seriously? I am now one of those guys. You know…the guys who were high school superstars, but didn’t really do much beyond that time period. The kind who live in the glory days? Yup, me.

It was AWESOME. I can’t tell you how much fun it is to make things competitive and form teams and work against guys you don’t know. When I first heard about this league, I thought we would walk all over every team, but some of these guys aren’t bad. And of course, there are still the guys who are playing that are like 60 years old, but they’re not all terrible. Anyway, we were dominating this team, I mean we were really working them over, but as it turns out sometimes in soccer you just can’t always put the ball in the net. They had a couple of counters and managed to get 2 goals. It made me mad and we were looking tired. Of the 40 minutes, they led for about the first 37 ½ minutes. Then we scored a goal…and then another…and another. We won 3-2. In the grand scheme of things, this game means absolutely nothing, but I just loved it. It was so fun to rack on them and steal that win. I would have preferred to not take so long to get it in gear, but it felt so good to storm back and get that win.

You know what else I love? Competition. I’m like a different person when it comes to playing competitively, especially against guys that I don’t know. I’ll say and do things that I wouldn’t EVER do to anyone that I know, or that in any other setting I wouldn’t even think of doing. For example, I would never full-throated yell in someone’s face telling them to, “shut the hell up” or that “you’re a freakin pussy.” I would never ever say those things in any other setting. Or on a 50-50 ball I ran full-speed right through a guy that probably had a good 4-6 inches on me and put him on the ground, only to wish that I could step on him as well. It’s so fun though…Dave, you gotta know how much I wanted to have the post-game analysis, maybe with a little pizza pipeline afterwards…

Beautiful Day

So I was kind of complaining to a friend the other day. I was just kind of feeling some anxiety over feeling a lot of uncertainty in my life. I think it had just been building up for a bit and I think I just reached my boiling point. She was pretty good about keeping me grounded (thanks, by the way). Something that helped me to get myself back to earth was reading something on NRO, of course. I won't link to the article, but I will cut and paste the portion that helped put things in perspective for me:

Want to close with something from Peter Kirsanow, a frequent contributor to NRO. But first I have to take you back a bit. In one of these columns, I was talking about Richard Pipes, the esteemed historian of Russia (and teenage refugee from Poland). In his memoirs, Vixi, Pipes wrote,

The main effect of the Holocaust on my psyche was to make me delight in every day of life that has been granted to me, for I was saved from certain death. I felt and feel to this day that I have been spared not to waste my life on self-indulgence or self-aggrandizement but to spread a moral message by showing, using examples from history, how evil ideas lead to evil consequences. Since scholars have written enough on the Holocaust, I thought it my mission to demonstrate this truth using the example of communism. Furthermore, I felt and feel that to defy Hitler, I have a duty to lead a full and happy life . . .

Pipes added, “I admit to having little patience with the psychological problems of free people, especially if they involve a ‘search for identity’ or some other form of self-seeking.”

My comment (of course) was, “Amen, amen, and amen again.”

And Peter sent the following note:

Loved the Pipes quote. I suspect it reflects a sentiment shared by most who’ve fled a totalitarian regime. When I was a kid, I sometimes complained about some task or spot of misfortune, as we all do. And my father — who survived being buried alive in a Nazi prison camp and twice escaped NKVD detention (the second time permanently) — would simply say, “Beautiful day.” Put me in my place right quick. Like Pipes, he had “little patience with the psychological problems of free people.” He was just terminally giddy about being in America.

Me again. Just realized what day it is. I'll be posting something appropriate to the day....

It Has Begun

I know that my readers probably have little to no interest in this story, but the Jamarcus Russell era has officially begun. He finally came to terms on his contract with the Raiders yesterday. It wasn't a terrible week for the Silver and Black. The offense looked good and they were in the game all the way to the very end.

And in other football news, Scooby Snacks were victorious over BonerClown. It was close up until the end, but Edge and Frank pulled it out for me. I actually had a really good week.

Like I said before...this is a GREAT time in sports. It's kind of disgusting, but I could watch about 15 hours of football over these fall weekends if I have nothing else to do. And then you've got the pennant races wrapping up in baseball to boot. I am for sure going to playoff games and if they make the World Series...I'll pay whatever I have to to get in those games. It really is a good time for sports.

Bro Hymn

I'm trying not to post at work as much because I really am pretty busy, but this article came courtesy of my bro, Greg. For some, this might be redundant, but for those who haven't read this, it's brode to bros that we need to hear. There are some expletives...buyer beware!

BYU Vs. OOKLAH The Punk

I wish that were a better picture, but when I was taking the picture the UCLA fans were really rocking the stands. Plus my camera doesn't really have image stabilizing. Anyway...as you probably already know, we lost this one. But I think there were a lot of moral victories to be had. To come into the home stadium of a top 25 team and almost win is pretty big. Plus our QB is only a sophomore and that was his first road game. I won't really comment much more on the game. Some calls didn't go our way, but what can you do? I think it's something they can build off of though.

You know what's funny? I think I'm a really good sport when it comes to losing, like when it's my team or just me. But when my team loses, I'm totally a sore loser. I freakin' hate it. I think it's because I pin my hopes on my team and then I can't do anything about it. Anyways....

Being up in LA, we thought we'd take advantage and head on over to Pink's. If you haven't been there it's wonderful. I didn't take that picture. But I'll include some other ones. They have these crazy concoctions and they pile on as much crap as they possibly can onto these hot dogs. It gets celebrity approval from a lot of people who are pictured in the little stand. Dave and I split three artery-busting beauties - the Today Show dog, the Ozzy Dog, and the Lord of the Rings. I'm not even an onion ring guy by any means, but I LOVED their rings. It really was awesome. LA has got all sorts of crazy crap that is worth driving up there for. Tommy Burgers are just as wonderful and aorta clogging. Diddy Reese continues to pump out the most wonderful ice cream sandwiches for just $1.25. And there is supposed to be a really good, authentic philly cheesesteak place that I'll have to find up there too. LA is cool. It's got such a unique culture and feel to it. I almost left out Tito's Tacos. Gotta love greasy fast food. I really do feel like a load of crap, but luckily our soccer league starts this week, plus we have our Wednesday indoor night, and then the 5 miler. So I'm roped into exercising whether I like it or not.

These entries feel really boring because I'm not really going beyond just telling you what happened. I'll get to that some other time. It's been a very busy last several days for me so you're lucky that I'm even posting. I will say that I'm disappointed all my teams lost this weekend, but I can still take a lot away from what happened. The Angels split a series with a really good Indians team without their best player. The Raiders lost a game that not many people expected them to win anyway, but at least showed some promise on offense scoring 3 touchdowns when they socred 12 all of last season. And they were in the game up until the last few minutes. And they might not even have had their best QB in the game with Culpepper sitting. I don't really need them to win this season as long as they can continue to build through the draft. If they kind of build like the 49ers have the last few years, then I think we could be in good shape. Honestly...it can't get any worse right? We're already the worst in the league as of last year, so it's only up from here.

Incubus At Verizon

I wish they still called it Irvine Meadows. I hate stupid marketing. But the show was awesome. I've never been to a big venue with a big band. You definitely lose the intimacy. We had lawn seats, which totally were not as good as I was anticipating, and there were just thousands of people there. I was crammed between two girls the entire show, neither of whom was my date (I can never tell when I should use 'who' or 'whom'). They were so good though.

I had a greater appreciation for sound and performance especially after last week's debacle called a show by Angels and Airwaves. I still like those few songs on the radio, but they just blew live. In contrast, Incubus had a really good polished sound. They played just about every song I wanted them to play and everything was just right on. It was really great. I love outdoor theaters, even if this one felt really crammed. I've been to one in Salt Lake somewhere, and the Hollywood bowl, and both of those weren't nearly as packed in as the Meadows was. In any case, they were good. Each song had a lengthy intro part and during one of those I was reminded of some Prince beats and was thinking to myself how I wanted to see him live, when all of the sudden blue, yellow, and purple lights came on and they started to play Let's Go Crazy. It was really cool. I didn't realize just how talented they are musically as well. Just a really good evening.

I even had a date that, dare I say it, eclipsed the performance. That's always cool when the person you're with is more fun the date activity itself, and that it was a good show is a compliment to her. And I'm not just saying that because she might be reading this. She was great - smart, nice, funny. I like people who laugh a lot and can laugh at themselves. She was that. So many thanks go to her for making the night that much better.

It was a great start to a fun weekend.

Sorry...Been Busy

Here are some thoughts and events that have transpired the last few days:

• I got a promotion. A nice one. I'm the HR coordinator at the company I work for. I'm pretty stoked about it. I have a respectable income with actual responsibility. This was a big answer to some of my grovelings, but when I started thinking about that...I think sometimes answers to prayers are really only us getting in line with what is supposed to be happening. So when it's not panning out as we would hope sometimes, really we just need to realign ourselves with what the program is really supposed to be. So...now I look at it in terms of, FINALLY! My will has coincided with His and I'm finally on the right path. And that is a wonderful feeling. Somehow that feels better than just thinking...yay! I get more money.
• Both of my professors agreed to write my letters, and one of them already wrote his. Really stoked about that. I need to find a third letter. I will be seeking some of your council on this one. Not stoked about having to turn in transcripts from CGU. I've asked most of you about this already, and if I haven't, I probably will. I've been trying to figure out how to get around this part of my application, but I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and acknowledge it. It's not like a huge blackmark, but I didn't do great and I withdrew before graduating, so in that sense...it's not going to be a strength as far as my application. But honesty is the best policy. Right?
• Football officially started yesterday. I wish I could have seen that game, but not at the expense of missing the Angels wipe the floor with the Indians. So sweet. Got some hot dogs, ice cream sandwiches. Garret Anderson is still en fuego. Things are good. Still trailing Boston, but we are looking nice and strong. I just love everything about baseball. It's such a cool sport. So chill. It's the perfect summertime game.
• A friend of mine just got out of a 2 year relationship. I felt terrible for him. Still feel bad about it. This made me think about some of my own experiences. Although trials suck when you're going through them, it really does give you a sense of accomplishment to know that you have braved tough waters, you know what I mean? I've had two lengthy relationships end and being through both of them has been a really eye-opening thing for me. I guess I had to learn the hard way. What is also kind of cool is that my experiences have given me some great insight into helping other people out going through their horrific break-ups, i.e. my buddy. But it always seems like the most difficult ones comes when you feel you at your best.
• Greg, of The Return of the Khaan fame, did really well on the DAT, the dental school entrance exam. So kudos to him. I'm really excited for him and for what the future has in store for him. Also concerning Greg...isn't it funny that he has a blog that his wife will have no part of? I was putting his link on my blog and I was noticing...Dave and Caitlin...Doug and Kristin...Matt and Laura...Greg and...just Greg. For some reason, the fact that Karen flies her blog solito doesn't make me think twice about it, but blogs seem like they're for the wives of married couples, or single people to talk about whatever. But just the husband...that feels different. Am I alone on this?
• Tonight is Incubus. Tomorrow is jet skis on the ocean, and also BYU vs. UCLA. I was cordially invited by Dave and Caitlin. Next week is Run Hit Remix, then that night I'm shooting for the Rise Against, Lagwagon, Strung Out show. Life is good.
• I have tons of stuff I've been wanting to blog about, but somehow...I just can't get to it. I'll try this weekend, but it looks like it's going to be a busy one. Cheers.

Your Theme Song

This post owes its existence to Jared.

Jared had mentioned tonight that a couple of good date questions are, 1) what is your personal theme song? and 2) what is our theme song? The second obviously comes later. But I started to think about what my own personal theme song would be. And it's hard for me to say. I feel it's similar to the question of what is your favorite movie? It mostly depends on my mood. Doesn't it? Because if I'm feeling sappy I'll want to watch You've Got Mail, but if I'm feeling melancholy then maybe something more sober. Or if I'm excited, then something really happy right?

Then I started to think about what qualities I thought my theme song should have. I'd like it to be happy because maybe I'm not always super happy, but I'd like to try to be. I'd like it to be something that is fun to move to. And as I was going through my most played songs, they are mostly punk songs with teenage angst and frustration with unrequited love. In fact, that would probably be my theme type of song because so many of my favorite songs are about that stuff. Anyway...I ended up choosing the song in this commercial. Let the gay jokes about Silva begin.

Some Spiritual Sentiments

I went to institute tonight and the teacher is Brother Holbrook and the subject is the New Testament. I submit to you that he is about as good as any teacher of religion that I had at BYU. He frequently makes the point that whatever efforts you make to extend your understanding, whether through written expression or verbal, opens up channels of revelation that you wouldn't get otherwise. The mere act of putting pen to paper or vocalizing the thoughts of your heart solidify and extend your understanding of spiritual subjects. I love that idea. And I whole-heartedly believe it.

We just started a new class for the semester and we read a few scriptures about Christ's role, I think they were Isaiah 61:1-3, Luke 3:4-9 (JST), and John 1:1-14 (JST) and he asked us to pick up those things that identify roles that Jesus plays as the Messiah. Then at the end of class he had people share. I sat there quiet and I really did want to say something, but he had to end class. I didn't bear my testimony on Sunday at testimony meeting because I was going to be teaching in Elders Quorum and I've been bearing my testimony nearly every month anyway. I feel like it's been overkill. But I've been aching to talk spiritual stuff even though I feel like a lot of my recent conversations have touched on that area. Anyway, I have several thoughts and this will serve as my outlet.

The phrase that I liked the most that identified a role he plays is that he binds the broken-hearted. I don't think I've been through anything much worse than anyone else has had to endure in their lives, but I feel like I've been through a good amount this past year or so. There are a few phrases in the church that I just absolutely love. Speaking of experiences in the Martin Handcart company, one member said that they became acquainted with God in their extremeties. I also love the imagery that goes along with lifting up the hands which hang low, and strengthening the feeble knees. I associate all these phrases with one another and center them all around the Lord. In so many ways I have felt better acquainted with God and his son Jesus Christ in my extremeties, and in those times of greatest need I feel like I have felt him bind up my broken heart, lift up my hands, and strengthen my knees. It is something so personal and intimate and while I never would have sought out the trials and phases that I've experienced, I am grateful for them because they have helped me to better understand the Savior and his messianic role.

I'd like to say also that feeling the spirit is such a singular experience. It is so indescribable, but at the same time so exhilirating. I got to teach the lesson in Elders Quorum on Sunday and as I testified toward the end about living prophets, I felt the spirit. And it was so cool to not only feel that confirmation of my beliefs, but to have the confidence to know that what I was saying would help draw others toward God. And it wasn't anything overwhelming, but just a warmth that reached from my core outward. I'm so grateful to be able to recognize that and see it for what it is.

On Saturday morning my mom came in my room and talked with me for a bit. My brother had given her a Bible to read as we began to experience our most recent challenges. Sometime ago I had given her a Book of Mormon in Portugeuse, but she kind of put it away so I took it back. But then I thought to give it back to her a couple weeks ago. And she started reading it. Well, last Saturday she just started asking me questions and I was able to give her the first discussion. I talked about God and his purposes, the role of Jesus in God's plan, how prophets teach us of the plan, and how the Book of Mormon gives us another witness of Christ. It was the most interested I've ever seen from her in the church, and the most open. It really reminded me of Alma 32 and how those people who had been humbled were in a preparation to hear the word. That was my mom. Not as much as I'd like her to, but more than I've ever seen. It was really cool. But she's read from the beginning up through 1 Nephi 12. That's more than a lot of investigators I've known, even some converts. We'll see.

I'm so grateful to have served a mission, and to be serving now in the church. I'm grateful for the living testimony I have of the gospel, this church, and of the blessings of the restoration of the true church of Jesus Christ. I have had so much instability the last couple of months in my personal and family life, and most recently even with work, but I can always be sure of my foundation which is on the Lord and his gospel.

Movie: Stardust

Wanting just to avoid the heat, we thought it would be a good idea to just go and pick out some movie and sit in a cool, air-conditioned theater for a good 1 1/2-2 hours. It came down to Stardust, Balls of Fury, and Death Sentence. After some deliberation, Stardust won out. I had seen the previews and it looked mildly appealing, but at the time I thought I wouldn't be in the mood. Then we got in and it turned out to be awesome. Probably one of the best movies I've seen all summer. I think every single one of us was so stunned at how clever and sweet the entire movie is. It was great. Do go see this one. I might even see it again. Yeah...it's that good.

We did end up going to see Balls of Fury another day. Don't bother. Even under penalty of death. It's just SO STUPID. And it will bother you that other people are laughing at such stupid jokes. It was weird. It was like we were trapped in some bubble where we thought everything was so dumb and predictable and everyone else could see the humor that we couldn't figure out. Don't waste your time with this one.

Can't We All Just Be Friends?

Don't you think it's funny when there are people that you have tons of things in common with and you can totally be friends with those people, but for whatever reason you just never cross paths that often and become close? I was going to include this in the last post, but that one was long enough as it was.

Take Kent Sommer for example...we play soccer, like similar music, even have a similar type of humor, and he's from southern California, but we just never ended up becoming very good friends while at BYU. Every element is there that could make the relationship work, but for whatever reason it just never happened.

While at BYU we used to have a little event at our apartment on Sunday nights that we called Hot Cocoa Loco (yeah, I know we stole the name, Laura). There was one dude who played soccer for the BYU team and just watching him play, I just knew that he was the kind of guy that I would hang out with. One time, he found his way to our place at the Loco with Jeff Jensen and he and I talked for like an hour. It was so weird. And I totally knew that we could be good friends, but the only thing that prevented me from pursuing it was feeling HUGELY gay for asking for a guy's phone number so that I could see him more. What is that? I'm borderline heterosexual as it is, I should have no problem asking him out. But I couldn't do it.

That isn't always the case, but there are a number of people who I've come across that I realize, dang...I could be such good friends with this person or that person. I'm trying to be better about it, but it's just kind of funny how sometimes those things just don't happen.

Friday Night Adventures

I really wish that I could think of a better title for this post. I'm kind of saddened by that. Anyway...I kicked off the month of September (I realize that it is actually August 31st...) with a concert because this month will be the month of concerts. This next Friday I have tickets to go see Incubus at the Verizon Amphitheater. The following weekend I'll be doing the Run Hit Remix and that night I'm going to attempt to hit up the Rise Against, Lagwagon, Strung Out concert, and the next weekend is Muse...and the weekend after...nothing yet, but I'll be working on it.

Back to the lecture at hand...Friday nights at the Del Mar racetrack they have been doing a free concert series where for the price of admission to the racetrack you get to see a free concert. This time around it was Angels and Airwaves. I'm not a huge fan, but I do like those few songs that they play on the radio, and I thought it would be fun to go down to the racetrack. But I was lacking in friends who wanted, or were available to go. Then I caught wind of Kent going down. I texted him and asked him if I could cruise and that was it.

Kent pawned me off to a couple of his buddies. I thought that was funny. Unbeknownst to me, I would be traveling with Dave Axelgard and another friend. That night I learned about Adventure Mode, which is simply the conscious decision to enjoy the course of the evening, regardless of how the events themselves turn out. Apparently, Kent comes up with some cockamamie schemes and Dave finds it necessary to enter into adventure mode to the save the evening sometimes, and spare himself from being annoyed with things not going to plan.

For starters, I LOVE adventure mode. Sometimes we get so pissy about traffic, or changes in plans that we fail to realize that if we wouldn't have gone ahead and gone out, that we wouldn't have been doing anything in the first place. I did realize that it was going to take a long time to get to the track, that the band was probably going to suck (which they did), but had I not gone, I probably would have just went to the gym or just sat around and fell asleep early. Adventure mode saved me from another Friday night of holding my...lower case j. Random.

One of my favorite parts was the horse races. Every half hour they run, and for about 2 minutes you just sit and hope that your bets come through. I would post a pic of a kid that I took, but I can't seem to figure out how to get the picture from my phone to the computer. The horses start and people are somewhat excited, but as they start to round the turn and come down the final stretch, it is so crazy how amplified the screams and gestures get as the horses approach the finish line. People rise to their feet and raising their arms and getting out of their seats. It's awesome. I can only imagine what it would have been like to actually have money riding on the steeds. So fun.

Angels and Airwaves played and the stunk. I forget what his name is, but it's the guy with the whiny voice. He talked way too much, and had nothing worth listening to. Their songs really did sound all the same. And it looked like he had no idea how to handle himself. It really blew. But I guess I've always heard that about the guys from Blink-182.

*Update - I just took a peak over at Kent's blog and I concur 100%, so I'll let his review do the talking.

Afterwards we went to a party down in San Diego. It was just a really good group that we were with. Nobody was trying to impress anyone, and everyone seemed to be switched onto adventure mode. I had been staying away from the party scene for a while because mostly there is just the Huntington scene, which I kind of loathe. You have a bunch of d-bags who just sit there and stare at you, and girls who are disingeneous at best. And there was one girl who knew the entire dance to Thriller, not just the chorus, but the whole freakin' thing. I don't know what it is about a girl that can not only dance, but will just let herself go that I think is so cool and is so alluring to me. It's just really cool. But there were several girls there who were like that and the guys too, they were all really cool. It was a really fun evening.

Even the drive home was fun. I heard some really funny stories about girls just going nuts in clubs, and Dave and Karl were just so funny to me. Such funny banter. Slightly irreverent at times, but really well thought out and just smart. I have been hanging out with so many random people it seems the last few months, but it's just been so cool to get exposed to so many different people who have so much to offer. I've been loving it. We were kind of sifting through Karl's Ipod and he mentioned that you just can't go wrong with gay 80s music - Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, and the like. Then he said, "in fact, it shall be hereafter referred to as gay-tees music". Loved it.

I don't know what it was about this evening, but it was so dang fun. Adventure mode put me in the right frame of mind, but the combination of people and events really made things work. I totally forgot what it was like to go to a party and hang out with different people and being in totally unfamiliar territory, but really soaking things up and just enjoying the ride. I feel kind of lame posting about all this, but it really was just a good time.