Far From Refuge

Back from the Holiday Break

2012-01-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

Time has gotten away from me, friends, and I apologize. It has been much to long since my last post. I suppose I have some excuses (i.e. Christmas, New Years, out of town), but I am back now. It was an interesting holiday season this year. The lady spent her first Christmas away from her family, which was difficult as one could imagine. We tried to make up for it by entrenching her with tons of MY family. In retrospect, not sure if that helped or hurt the situation. :) I kid. Christmas Eve was spent with my mom and LaMar in Yorba Linda, with a little twist , however, this year. We were joined by pretty much ALL of my mom's side of the family including my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins(even our Navy Sailor John showed up), and our family jewel Aunt Margie. It has been a while since we have all gotten together during the holidays and I enjoyed seeing everyone.

On Christmas Day we got up early and went to my Mom's ward for church. It was great to see everyone there, especially some old friends I hadn't seen since high school. Ash and I brought all our unopened presents with us to my parent's place so we could all open everything together. I got two pairs of Tom's from my mom (red and black burlap) and a video game I had been wanting (Modern Warfare 3), but the real treat came from Ashley in the form of an AppleTV. My lady gets me, I tell ya. I hooked it up a a couple days after Christmas and am loving it. I will love it even more once we move and I set up my surround sound so I can listen to my iTunes music on good speakers. As for her, she got a new Marc Jacobs bag, new boots, and few a other nice trinkets.

New Years came and went without much of anything. We watched Gaga, LMFAO, and others rock(I use that term extremely loosely) NYC as well as the corpse of Dick Clark being controlled by strings. A quick kiss at midnight and off to bed. Sometimes it feels like we are so old we have kids in our 20's rather than actually being in our 20's ourselves.

As for the diet, it started off well, but soon got lost in all the hubbub of the holiday season and my trip to Denver(more on that in the next post). I am now proud to say that I am back on the wagon and am doing very well. My brother, Rex, suggested I keep my intake under 2000 calories a day, and that combined with a few cardio sessions a week would equal quick weight loss. I have decided to take the suggestion and am liking the process so far. In fact, my first day on the new program I only had 1500 calories. Weird huh? I guess that means I have room for a snack in the middle of the day like yogurt, fruit, or cottage cheese. Most importantly, it feels good to be back at it again. Nothing makes you feel more out of shape than being a mile above sea level.

Timeline Flashbacks

2011-12-24T00:18:00.000-08:00

Facebook has now added the Timeline feature and it allows you to see your entire history with the site. Every post. Every status. Every tagged or uploaded picture. I started playing around with it tonight and was blown away by all the old memories. Most notably, I saw a lot of posts from or related to an old friend, a best friend in fact. It has been a year and half since we had a falling out and I don't think I am over it yet. I still think of him and about the whole situation quite often. I thought I would be over it all by now, but for some reason it lingers with me. Seeing all these old posts and pictures on Facebook makes the memories that much more vivid, and ultimately floods my mind with emotion. Anger? Yeah a bit. Pain? Yes. Mostly though, I just miss our friendship.

The hard thing is that there is zero chance of reconciliation, if I even wanted it. Most of me screams against any such notion. There is no going back. What's done is done and can't be undone. There is, however, a sliver of me, a small part that wants my friend back. The interests and experiences I shared with this friend are pretty much exclusive. No one else can replace him. Now that he is gone, I almost feel like a small part of those experiences are gone too. Typing that out and reading it sounds weird, but I don't know how else to put it.

I can't help but to think it is really unfortunate the way things went down. When I say unfortunate, I mean downright shitty. Its weird to think that because of one experience that a 10 year friendship can be destroyed. What if things had gone down differently? Who knows? I don't. I have definitely thought about it enough. Its been a year and a half, and I still think about it constantly. If I am being perfectly honest (which is what we are supposed to be on our blog right?), I have had multiple dreams about a confrontation with him. When I say multiple I don't mean 2 or 3. Probably more around 20 to 30. The entire thing haunts my friggin dreams. Will I ever get over this? I hope so. My sleep depends on it. :)

For now, it is Christmas weekend and I am looking forward to the time spent around my family, friends, and most importantly, the lady. I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend and appreciates the family and friendships they do have.

P.S. Sorry for the quasi depressing post. I think it is just something I have been thinking about for a long time and needed to get out of my head and onto paper(screen).

"No thank you...."

2011-12-18T01:30:00.000-08:00

Behold my beautiful wife, Ashley. I know its kind of a random picture but it is one of my favorites of her. She is my everything. I show you this picture so you all can get a better visual of her and also so you can all be jealous that I get to fall asleep next to her every night, not only because she is beautiful but because on occasion funny things happen. One such occasion occurred a few nights ago. We had both fallen asleep and in the middle of the night I woke up slightly and rolled over. As I rolled over (now facing her) I was startled to hear her start talking. "No. NO! Absolutely not..........no thank you..." I don't know how I kept it together. I'm not sure if my favorite part was the hand wave when she said "absolutely not" or the calm after thought of "no thank you". What the heck was she dreaming about? What was going on in that brain of hers? I asked her this very question the next morning and we will apparently never know. She couldn't remember her dream at all. Bummer.

Just a short thought on sleep talking. I think the weirdest part, or most interesting, of sleep talking is the difference in experience between the person doing the talking and the person listening. To the person talking, they are obviously having a real conversation with someone, so they act and speak like one would in a real life interaction(versus how one would re-tell a story from earlier in the day). For the person doing the listening, all they hear and see is the one side of the conversation. It is a very odd experience hearing someone talk as if someone else is there, and engaging in a conversation you have no context for. Oh yeah, and it is all happening at 2 in the AM. A very odd experience indeed. We have already shared more than a few laughs over the whole thing since, and will continue to for sure.

This picture is from before Ashley and I started dating. I have always loved this picture of her though. It captures her personality pretty well I think. Plus I love how tan/dark she is here. Just wanted to share it with everyone.

Top 10 Albums of the Year

2011-12-14T21:48:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year. Everyone is releasing their end of the year lists. Here is mine. I don't profess these to be the best 10 albums of the year, just my favorite. There should be a little something for everyone in here. If you are interested in any of them, check out the link. I picked my favorite song
from each album. Enjoy.

1. Defeater - Empty Days and Sleepless Nights
A shocker to myself and probably anybody that mildly knows me. Somehow, someway, this album was able to top Major/Minor. Empty Days is hardcore music at its best. One part The Who's Tommy, one part pissed off late 90's hardcore, Defeater's new album tells a story about two brothers in a post WW2 era New Jersey. The lyrics are so strong it is easy to get swept up in the story in a very cinematic way. The ten song album also includes an extra 4 song ep of sorts of strictly acoustic songs. These 4 songs are phenomenal. If you aren't into hardcore at least check out the link below for Brothers. Did I mention they put on a hell of a live show too? Defeater - Dear Father Defeater - Brothers

2. Thrice - Major/Minor
Most everyone that knows me is not surprised to see this album on my list, however they are probably surprised its at #2. Major/Minor picks up where Thrice left off with their last album Beggars. What they have added is more layers and a slightly upgraded production. Major/Minor is a bit more dynamic than its predecessor as well. This is an album I would feel comfortable recommending to pretty much any one. For a more in depth discussion check out the post I wrote about it here. Thrice - Words in the Water

3. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Simple Math sports what is probably my favorite song of the year in its title track. The album as a whole takes the listener on quite a journey. It is definitely reminiscent of my favorite Brand New album, Deja Entendu, but with more layers and a slicker production. Some reviews I read were not fans of the string arrangements placed in some of the songs, but I actually was a big fan of them. If you are looking for a good alternative rock album that is ready for the radio but offers a bit more than what is being offered on the radio then this album is perfect for you. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

4. Nick 13 - Nick 13
This album is definitely the dark horse in my top 10. Nick 13 is usually heard as the lead singer for Tiger Army, a punk/psychobilly band. On his first solo album, Nick 13 offers an album full of country gems that would satisfy any fan of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, or Hank Williams Sr. What makes this album stand out is his voice and the stellar backing band. I don't presume to know anything about country music, but from what I have read, Nick 13 has assembled a who's who of country backing musicians (peddle steal, drums, fiddle) and it definitely shows. Anyone with an open mind would love this album. It is a very timeless record and one I will be listening to for years to come. Nick 13 - Nashville Winter

5. Balance & Composure - Separation

Oh Separation, this album still confuses me. I can't decide if it is a rock album with a hardcore edge, or a hardcore album on Xanax. At times Balance & Composure remind me a lot of the late 90's "emo" acts like early Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, and Texas Is the Reason. At other times though, Balance & Composure channel their inner hardcore and put up some pretty heavy rock tunes. There isn't any screaming per se, but it is heavy nonetheless. I saw them a few months ago and all the songs sound just as good, if not better, in a live setting. Balance & Composure - Quake

6. Touche Amore - Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me
Talk about emotion. Touche Amore gives probably the most emotionally draining release of the year. At its heart, this album is essentially a punk rock album. As far as I can tell, there is only one chorus in the whole album. One of my favorite things about this album is that it is 13 songs, but the album length is only a tad over 20 minutes. That means songs that are short and sweet. Touche Amore - Home Away From Here

7. La Dispute - Wildlife
Wildlife might be the most unique album I listened to all year. The strange thing is that it is vaguely familiar to material by one my favorite bands in At the Drive In. Wildlife is a concept album where each song is essentially a short story. This is one of the albums where you want to pay close attention to the lyrics. The vocal delivery is a large part of the greatness of La Dispute. Watching them open for Thrice was a treat. La Dispute - King Park

8. The Devil Wears Prada - Dead Throne

Heavy. Not for those with sensitive ears. The Devil Wears Prada have followed up last years purely awesome Zombie EP with probably their best album. DWP are doing their best to separate themselves from their peers in what has become a watered-down joke of a metalcore scene. For those who like themselves from metal, this is an album for you. Everyone else need not listen. The Devil Wears Prada - Vengeance

9. Make Do and Mend - Part and Parcel
Talk about your last minute inclusions. This was barely released at the end of November. Part and Parcel is an acoustic EP consisting of acoustic versions of 4 previously released full band songs, a cover of a Touche Amore song, and one new song. I had low expectations for this release for some reason. I guess I didn't think they would pull it off. Boy was I wrong. MDAM's last album(End Measured Mile) came out in December of 2010, but was not discovered by me until January. If I was going to include December 2010 in this list, End Measured Mile would have been #1. I am glad I loved Part and Parcel so much because it gives me a reason to put them on this list anyway. Make Do and Mend - Unknowingly Strong (Acoustic)

10. Junius - Reports From the Threshold of Death
This album snuck up on me in 11th hour. I just came across it in the second week of December. That will tell you how much I enjoy this album. Two ways to describe this album. 1.) It sounds like The Smiths if they formed a metal band. 2.) Kind of a cross between the Deftones and Isis. Either way, its slower, its heavy, and its melodic. I like it. Junius - A Universe Without Stars

Darn Kids With Their Darn Loud Music!

2011-12-11T19:04:00.001-08:00

A recent musical phenomenon has been racing across the internet and I can't go another minute without addressing my hatred for it. The phenomenon is known as dubstep, and its terrible. Think of a guy that has synthesizers taped to his hands and feet, falling down a flight of stairs that is 4 minutes long. That is what it sounds like. I like to consider myself as someone who has a large music palette that stretches from punk rock to hip hop to classic rock to electronica and everything in between. I have often prided myself on my ability to stay with the times and find new music in new genres and sub-genres that I enjoy. Lately, dubstep has me feeling a bit like a crotchety old man complaining about the loud music the kids these days are playing. If it gets any worse I'll be yelling at kids to get off my lawn.

There is not one part of this that sounds remotely like music to me. That is coming from a guy that calls hardcore punk his favorite type music. Hardcore punk is home to shouted, yelled, or screamed vocals and traditionally basic song structures. There are of course many bands that have incorporated melodic vocals (Ignite, Rise Against) and/or more difficult song structures (Botch, Cave In, Dillinger Escape Plan), some even mixing jazz into equation (Refused). While I don't agree with it, some have dismissed this music as "just noise", but to the critics I say, if you are not into the style of music, you can at least appreciate the fact that these bands are playing their instruments, some very well. Defenders of dubstep has explained that the song structures are very advanced and use complicated time signatures. Big deal, it is created on a friggin' lap top. Part of what gives music "life" is the fact that it is played by actual human beings. If you can program the bass track to be on a 5/4 time signature, who cares? Thats very different from a drummer who can play his drums at a 5/4. This is not to say that I have no appreciation for electronica, because I do.

There is something to be said for a song that you can dance to, or something that simply just sounds cool. Blink 182 and New Found Glory are the examples of this in the pop-punk world. Nothing new. Nothing exciting. Nothing difficult to play. But damn its catchy. I think there is something to be said about a band that can write a hook. This goes for a lot of DJ's in the electronica world. There IS something to be said about coming up with a catchy hook or cool beat. There is talent there. All I mean to say is that the complicated song structures in dubstep seem to lose their luster when you consider it is created on a computer. To me it is more impressive that someone can play a few chords and keep a simple drum beat.

Furthermore, I don't have a degree in music theory. I admittedly don't have the best ear. I do think, however, that I have a better ear than most people that aren't trained musically. I find it extremely difficult to count beats and to break down songs. If I can't do it, who can? Musicians and people who have studied music in school. Thats about it. I often hear people refer to a band as a musicians band. Like the band Yes. Most people that like Yes are musicians and appreciate the musicianship in their songs. Is that was dubstep is? A musicians electronica genre? Maybe I am wrong, but I doubt most musicians and people who have studied music would like dubstep. Its just terrible. To complete the post, I will leave you with an example of dubstep so you can make your own judgement. If you are like me you will get 30 seconds in and want to turn the guns on yourself. Either way, I am curious to know everyones thoughts.

I'm Part of the 300 Club

2011-12-04T00:15:00.001-08:00

I hope to look back on this week in a year or two as an important week in my life. Something was brought to my attention that I can't ignore. I can't turn and run away either. Well...I do need to do some running, but actual running, not the metaphorical type. They always tell alcoholics, or at least in the movies they do, that you have to admit there is a problem before you can fix it. This is me admitting it to the world (luckily only 12 people read this blog).

I weigh over 300 pounds. There it is. I said it. It doesn't feel good, like when they say it in the movies. I think the weirdest thing for me is that in my mind I am about 220. Growing up I was always outside riding my bike till the sun went down and playing baseball and football year-round. I went through a chubby stage in middle school, but other than that I was always in good shape and skinny, relatively speaking.

I honestly don't know what happened. Maybe that is problem in fact, that nothing happened. I stopped playing sports, working out, caring about what I ate, and worst of all got a job sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day. Not to mention got married (my poor wife).

Regardless, I am here and I am massively over weight. I always looked at obese people and said,"How did they let themselves get like that? If I ever got over 3 bills I would get my ass to the gym and work out." Well folks, time to put my money where my mouth is (ya know, instead of more food). Its go-time. Its get-my-butt-to-the-gym-5-or-6-times-a-week-time. Its eating-healthy time. Lastly, its your-muscles-are -going-to-be-sore-for-at-least-2=weeks-straight time.

What is that? I mean, I know what it actually is (kind of). We have all felt it before. You haven't been to the gym in months. First time back you go balls out and feel great that night. Next day you are a bit tender but still feeling like you accomplished something and are being reminded of it with a slight soreness. THEN, the day after that you feel like you were hit by a train. WHAT IS THAT?! Is it natures cruel way of welcoming you back into the healthy world? Is your body trying to tell you that the gym is bad and eating endless amounts of mac n cheese is good? Because that is what it feels like. You'd think that if working out was good for you that your body would feel amazing after doing it for the first time in months. I digress.

All I know is that I am going into BEAST MODE for a while. I can't say for how long, but it will be long enough so that when I am done you won't recognize me. Here's to me and my health. To not getting Diabetes before the age of 30. To being able to climb some stairs without getting winded. To being able to shop at Urban Outfitters. To fitting back into my old clothes (I have a couple pairs of Seven and Diesel jeans just wasting away in a my dresser). Here is to sticking to the plan.

By the way, I hope some of you didn't continue reading this post hoping to hear about me walking around shirtless wearing nothing but a loincloth and an oversized red cape.

I also added a little poll on the right hand column regarding whether you guys want to hear about my journey or not. Truth be told its also a way to gauge how many people are reading. If you don't comment, at least take 2 seconds to answer the poll question. Much love.

Obligatory Thanksgiving Post

2011-11-23T19:39:00.001-08:00

I suppose it is customary to write a post about what I am thankful for on Thanksgiving. With so much going on in our lives, it is nice to sit down and reflect upon all the blessings we have. This blogger especially, has a lot to be thankful for. First and foremost, the lady I get to fall asleep to every night and wake up every morning to (except when I snore, then I am banished to the couch). I love my wife immensely and try to tell her that every day. A lot of people use the cliche "I don't know where I'd be without her". I know exactly where I would be; single and miserable. I was just thinking the other night how a lot of my friends that I hung(hanged?) out with before I was married are still single. When I was single I always thought that I would be the last one to get married. Weird how that works out. It has been a year and a half of marriage so far and I still miss her while I am at work and can't wait to get home to see her. I know when we get ready to make the jump that she will be the best mom. I can't begin to express what she means to me. I guess I will put it simply and say that I love her and am thankful for everything she does and is.

That was the easy one; the no brainer, if you will. The next thing I am thankful for would be my faith. My relationship with my God means so much to me. It is something that is constantly on my mind and something I try to improve on a regular basis. I will be perfectly honest and say that I usually fail. I am very rough around the edges and would surprise some if they found out how important it is to me, although at the same time I feel that is part of my charm. I am so thankful for the relationship I have with the Savior and with my Heavenly Father. I don't like to get preachy, especially on the internets (please disregard my semi-religious rant from a month or two ago, I admit it was a mistake) so I will leave it to that.

Thats two. Hmm, what is next? Ah yes, my job. Despite the minor issues I have with my current place of work, I am very thankful to have a job that lets me pay my bills and get sushi now and again. In these economic times a lot of people can not say that. I suppose this also includes and goes hand in hand with my education. I wouldn't be able to have a job like my current one with out my education. I like to poke fun at accounting, but I am so thankful that I have my degree. So many people are going through tough times and it is a gigantic blessing to not only have a job that pays the bills, but to enjoy your coworkers (generally speaking, not specifically. I work with some weirdos) and the work environment is a pretty sweet bonus. Did I happen to mention that I work less than 15 minutes from my home? Quite the oddity here in SoCal.

I suppose I could go on but when your iPod is #4 on the list do you really want to hear about the rest? I think not. I hope everyone who reads this has a fantastic Thanksgiving and remembers all the blessings in their lives. For those who don't read this, I hope you all have a terrible holiday weekend. Just kidding. :)

FunFact: I was friends with Charles Schultz's grandson in when I was in Chicago. I met his mom and asked her what it was like growing up with Charles Schultz as a Dad and all she said was, "Wah wah wah whah Wah wah."

PS Black Friday is for chumps. I am staying in all day.

Forever the Saddest Day

2011-11-21T17:23:00.001-08:00

Thrice on Halloween

Today I got some terrible news that absolutely rocked my world and inevitably ruined my morning and day. My favorite band, Thrice, will be (kind of) calling it quits. I say kind of, because in a message to the fans, lead singer Dustin Kensrue starts off by saying "Thrice is not breaking up." He then follows it up with a long soliloquy(probably not the best word to describe but damnit its a great word) about how they are no longer going to be a full time touring and recording band. He apparently has 3 children all under the age of 5 and is having a hard time being away from them. Their other guitar player, Teppei, also has similar concerns. They will also be stepping away from the band for awhile, even in a part time sense.

Ugh. While I can understand and appreciate the idea of wanting to be with your family, I can't help but to be sad at the lack of new Thrice material and live shows on a regular basis. All I can think of is another favorite band of mine, Hot Water Music, and how they did something similar. After their last album in 2004, one of their 2 frontmen left the band and started putting out acoustic albums touring with folk artists. The rest of the band forged on as The Draft. While both projects were noteworthy, especially some of Chuck Ragan's solo stuff, it was never as good as Hot Water Music. (Update: recent news have HWM reunited and putting out a new album in early 2012. Excelsior!)

I'm sure Thrice will continue to put out music in some form, but I will miss these heydays of the last 13 years I have been a fan. Dustin has released 2 solo albums already that I love (one being a great Christmas album if you are looking for some good Holiday music), and other members have released a few smaller samples of what might be coming in the future. I can only hope that these somehow tide me over in the absence of my favorite band. For now I feel like this little girl.

If you are unfamiliar with their work check out the links below to become acquainted with what I consider one of the best bands of my generation.

Thrice - In Exile - A great song for everyone. Off the album before the one that was just released.

Thrice - Promises - This is the single off their new one. I like this lyric video better than the actual music video.

Thrice - Digital Sea - This is off their Alchemy Index series. This song blew my mind the first time I heard it. So different for them, especially at the time.

Dustin Kensrue - Pistol - This is off of Dustin's solo album. The lady and I danced to this at our wedding reception. Ah memories....

Far From Interesting?

2011-11-19T00:21:00.001-08:00

I have been visiting quite a few different blogs lately in effort to expand my fan base, or should I say CREATE my fan base. I'm not exactly sure how many people are reading right now, but I do know that most readers are either to shy (I refuse to think lazy) to comment, or my writing isn't good enough to warrant commenting. That last thought makes me want to kick rocks. For the few that have been reading, you know that I have only been back blogging for a few months now (not exactly sure how many months. No more than 6 though). Since I have been back, I haven't felt "in the zone" like I did during Round 1 of this blog. Round 1 took place my senior year of college (end of '07 and beginning of '08) and in my opinion was a lot better of a read. Use your own judgement on the definition of better. That might have been because my life was more exciting then, but I think a large part of it had to do with being in school and using my mind in a critical way on a daily basis.

In reading these other blogs it made me wonder, do I even want the masses to read my terrible excuse for writing? Some of the blogs I read had snappy names or polished looking titles and backgrounds. Some were more simplistic and minimalist in nature. They all, however, had one thing in common: good writing and interesting stories. I guess that is two things. I always thought I was a pretty good writer, especially when I compared my writing to my peers in school (accounting majors are surprisingly not well written, or well spoken for that matter). I am now second guessing myself and what I am putting out there. I can see the obvious stumbles, especially some of the recent posts (I learned to never talk about religion again), but do I need fine tooth comb this bad boy before I release it in the wild? Does that last sentence even make sense? I digress. Its now 12:30 in the AM and I have to wake up in 6 hours to hit the gym with my brother who is in town from Denver.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think I need to give this little blog a bit more form. My posts have always been very erratic and about anything and everything. Maybe I need to whittle it down to a more concise vision. What do you all think? I promise to think about it and come back prepared for the future. Your comments are always appreciated and dually noted. Also, does Far From Refuge need a facelift? I somewhat like that basic set up that is going on here but maybe some pop would do it good.

Friend Makin Monday: Dating

2011-11-17T23:47:00.001-08:00

I found this thing on another blog (alltheweigh.com) and thought it might be fun. Lets see.

FMM: Dating

What is your current relationship status? (Be as specific as you’d like to be!) Married! Been married for a little over a year now and its glorious.
List a few qualities that you look for in a significant other...Most of the qualities I seek revolve around being able to stand me and my humor, or in my wife's case actually like the weird natural way I am. I also love a girl who is outgoing and confident. Tall of course. Physically I like them curvy. :)
If you could choose to date one character in TV or film, who would you choose? And which characteristics are most appealing? Does Kim Kardashian count as a character (my wife is going to kill me)? If not, then I would pick Gloria from Modern Family. Do I really need to explain why?
How long should you date before becoming exclusive? The shorter the better in my opinion. But I guess its up to the couple.
What are your thoughts on public displays of affection? Definitely down to hold hands and some pecking. Anything past that is a bit much for me.
Do you kiss on the first date? Ask the wife. :)
Biggest turn-off? Cockiness. I guess in women it would be referred to as bitchiness.
What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? I'll be honest, somewhere between the face and boobs. I'm a guy. It just depends on what is more striking.
How long do you/did you wait before becoming intimate? I am proud to say that the lady and I waited until marriage. It was a tuff time for sure. There were some heated make out sessions.
Describe your dream date. I know this is going to sound cheesy (Ash loves that about me), but to be perfectly honest, my dream date would be my wife's dream date. Not too sure what that is, but whatever would be her dream date would be mine. I honestly don't think I could enjoy myself to fullest doing what I REALLY love to do while my wife was there. Let me explain. I love music. Most of it my wife isn't into. My dream date would revolve around seeing one of my favorite bands live or something with a special dinner. I don't know, I am not that creative. But the lady wouldn't really enjoy that, which would make me enjoy it less. I would more enjoy doing whatever she wanted to do. Gaga concert and sushi maybe? Who knows. I just like to spend time with her. That was a longer answer than I anticipated.

Second to One

2011-11-15T22:46:00.001-08:00

Tonight was my last softball game of the season and for 2011 (except for the tournament we might play). With our team, Moose Knuckles, winning the summer league, we had high hopes for this season. With a win tonight and a loss by the 1st place team we would have captured the crown again. We put the hurt on Tiki Bar, the team we played, and won 25-7. Unfortunately, we didn't get any help and the 1st place team won their game as well. It wasn't meant to be apparently. Here is the team celebrating our second place finish at Gina's Pizza in Irvine.

There I am with kiddy cup in hand. The waitress thought it would be funny to bring me a milk since I was the only one not drinking. Everyone had a good laugh.

A Bit of Inspiration

2011-11-11T21:21:00.001-08:00

Tonight I found myself reading my friend Tim's blog which documents his tremendous journey from being over 400 pounds to his now weight of 245 pounds. When Tim and his family moved into our ward earlier this year I had the pleasure of helping them empty out their moving truck into their house. Back then he was still pretty big, although he has told me that he had lost 100 pounds by then. I remember his first or second week at church someone had confused us and thought I was him. I think he was probably around 350 or so at the time. I remember thinking, "Are you freaking kidding me? Dude is WAY bigger than me." Smash cut to now and Tim is now a slim 245 at 6 ft. 4 in., and still losing. He told me last night his target weight is around 220. Meanwhile, I am the same weight I was then, if not maybe heavier. I would KILL for someone to mistake us now. Haha. SWEET IRONY!!!

The best thing about Tim's story is that he is one of the nicest, most genuine people you will ever meet. He is also one of my favorite types of Mormon, which is the kind that is super solid and emanates what it means to be a Christian without throwing it in your face or coming off as judgmental. His approach to fitness and weight-loss is very similar to his approach to religion. If you ask him about it he is more than willing to share his story, secrets, and fitness plan, but he doesn't come off as a fitness/diet no it all that I have run into too many times. He is truly inspiring, so much so that it is 9:30 PM on a Friday and I am contemplating on hitting the gym. I think not tonight, as I will most likely lose my parking spot and be forced to park on the street (blasted apartment complex parking), but definitely first thing tomorrow morning.

One last thing about his blog that made me think. In one of his posts he talked about when he was obese he would avoid looking at pictures of himself or looking in the mirror. When he would look at pictures he would think about how this shirt made him look fat or this angle made him look fat, never thinking that it was the 400+ pounds that was making him look fat. This idea is further expressed by people saying that the camera adds 10 pounds when it is more likely that the people looking at the picture have an image of themselves as 10 pounds lighter. I couldn't agree more with this. I am often in denial about the way I look. I think oh I'm not THAT big. I hold it well. Or some other lie. It is only when I really look at old pictures of myself that I realize what I have become. Its time for change. Tomorrow is a new day. Time to get to work.

Here is a link to Tim's blog for those of you who are interested. I will also add it to the list of blogs I frequent on the right hand column.

http://tiniertim.wordpress.com/

Bane and Defeater @ Chain Reaction

2011-11-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Its been a week since last Saturday's show and my blood is still pumping from it. It was, to simply put, AMAZING! I couldn't have asked for a better hardcore show. The show was completely sold out so Chain Reaction was packed to brim of mostly high school and college kids and a few old men like Mike and myself. We got there early so we decided to grab some grub as we both had not eaten yet. We started walking down the block and found what we were both longing for; a hole in the wall Mexican joint that made some bomb burritos. It hit the spot. After I stuffed my face with what was sure to be an intestinal disaster hours later, we headed back to Chain Reaction. As we were walking up to the place we passed a guy unloading equipment from a van. The guy caught eyes with Mike and said,"Hey man, hows it going? How've you been?" Mike responded that he was good and we kept walking. I said,"Do you know that guy?" Yes. "Who is he?" The guitar player for Bane. He didn't say anything but I saw a slight glint in his eye that spoke volumes. So proud. haha. Mike is 34 I think and has been in the hardcore scene for a long time and has subsequently met a lot of people. Even in my 28 years, I was kind of impressed that he knew the guy. Bane is from Boston and is pretty legendary in the hardcore circles.

The opening bands were actually pretty good. There was a band named Miles Away, from miles away in Australia, that rocked it pretty hard. The frontman was pretty insane though. I leaned over to Mike and commented that he looked like he survived Auschwitz. Kinda tall and super skinny. He looked like he might have MS or something. No pictures sorry. The band directly before Defeater was Rotting Out and they were from San Pedro I believe. Everyone in the band was Mexican which is odd for a hardcore band. They are kind of up and coming and the kids went insane for them. We were both kind of surprised. Not really my type of hardcore though. To groove oriented for me.

Defeater was on next. Their new album has been in heavy rotation on my iPod for the last 6 months and to say I had high expectations would not be an understatement. I was not let down. They played a good amount of songs from each of their 3 releases, and played a good number of my favorites. My only complaint would be that since they weren't the headliner they only played for about 30 or 40 minutes. I was good to hear about twice as much from them.

The kids went crazy for them, as you can see in a lot of these pictures.

Mike took a 30 second video of the opening song. As you can see it gets pretty crazy. Still pumped up from it.

After Defeater finished, Bane took the stage and tore shiz up! There is a reason this band has rocking stages around the world for the last 15 years. I was really impressed with their entire stage presence. The crowd went insane for them which made it even more fun to watch. All in all it was a great time and a show I won't forget for a while. Next up is Thrice and La Dispute this coming week. Stay tuned for that.

Occupy Mosh Pit

2011-10-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I will (hopefully) be in the middle of a crazy hardcore show at my local venue Chain Reaction. On the agenda? Only one of the most influential and epic hardcore bands in the last 10 years or so and one of hardcore's most promising up and comers. Headlining the show is seminal straight edge hardcore band Bane. To say I am stoked to see them play is an understatement. They haven't released an album since 2005 but they still tour here and there. Opening for them is one of my favorite new bands, Defeater. Defeater's new one, Empty Days and Sleepless Nights, has been blowing my mind since they released it earlier this year and will most likely land atop my Top 10 list for the year. It should be a hell of a time. Luckily I won't have to enjoy it alone as one of Ash's coworkers who has become a friend of mine is coming with. I almost punched a hole in my wall at work today while listening to Defeater and getting pumped up for the show. I will try to capture some pictures at the show and post them on here.

A Meal with the Missionaries

2011-10-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Today I took the local Missionaries out to lunch at In 'N Out. I had a pretty dang good time with them. They are both greenies (the trainer has been out I think 3 months and his greenie has been out about a month) so it was fun to chit chat with them about mission life and what not. It is so weird that they are both 19, making me 9 years their elder, and yet I feel like we are about the same age. On the flip side, I remember being on my mission and being around guys in their late 20's and thinking they were SO much older than me. Do they look at me that way? Am I the old guy trying to hold on to his youth? Possibly.

Regardless, I had a good time with them talking about their investigators, their mission president, and just their missions in general. Even though I have only been home from my mission for 7 years, quite a bit has changed since I was out. All the teaching materials I used have completely been swapped out for a new system. New guidelines and new rules have been instated. Even the overall outlook and attitudes of the leadership has changed. This is all on top of the change of stance on the use of technology. Even though there was email, cell phones, internet, and the like when I was out, there was a strict policy against using such things. Only 7 years later missionaries are allowed to email home and use cell phones to help with there work (they can even text!). It makes me wonder how much more technology will be used in the future. Will every missionary be assigned a laptop/iPad to do all their studying and scheduling on? Kind of a cool thing to think about actually.

While talking to the Elders I couldn't help but feel bitter about not being able to use all these things when I was out. We had all the same technology and yet were not permitted to use it. Its another bullet point in my mind on the list of evidence that NOT EVERYTHING the church/church leaders do is inspired. The two places I feel like this is apparent most is in the mission field and at BYU. A lot of the mission rules and BYU rules really make me scratch my head. When I here some ridiculous rule I think, "Is this really inspired by the spirit, or was it instilled by some crazy hardcore mormon who thinks all their ideas are doctrine (i.e. no beards at BYU)." I think some of these people mean well, especially in the mission area, but are just misguided in their attempts. It also creates a problem when people that attend BYU or missionaries on their mission, think that everything their leaders do is right and inspired by the spirit when that isn't the case. One of the great things about this gospel is that we recognize that not only are the scriptures fallible, but our leaders are fallible as well. We know that not everything the prophet and apostles say is doctrine and is correct, much less mission presidents, stake presidents, BYU school officials, and everyone below these people (I urge people to read a 1st edition copy of Mormon Doctirne by Bruce R. McConkie for some evidence). That might sound like a bad thing to some people but I think its a great principle. We are left to use the spirit and to live the lives that WE want to live. What is right and good for one, might not be right and good for another. With the spirit we can discern what is right and good for ourselves and our families, or our missions.

The Art of the Sleep Vuvuzelas

2011-10-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, I might be the only one who does this and am probably setting myself up for humiliation but....does anyone else fart in their sleep? How do I know I fart in my sleep? Well two ways actually. First, I believe Ash has told me that I have, so there's that. More importantly though, I have woken myself up multiple time from farting, most notably last night. I think the funniest thing about it is that when I wake up and realize that not only did I fart, but I also woke myself up with the fart, I am instantly embarrassed. I think to myself, "Did anyone hear that? Or more importantly, can anyone smell that?"

The most memorable story I have took place in Utah while I was in school. I was staying up in Park City with some friends at a timeshare someone's parents had paid for but didn't use. We all just ended up sleeping on the floor and couches. On this particular night I had a crazy amount of gas. I'm talking like "first date with a girl, holding it in the entire night, and letting it go on the way home after you have dropped off your date" type of gas. All you guys out there know what I am talking about. After everything settled down we all went to bed with me not getting a chance to "relieve" the pressure. Oh yeah, did I happen to mention the girl sleeping relatively close to me was someone who I liked at the time and was working up the courage to ask out? I am sure you all can guess what happened. I was able to curb the gas while awake, but when my mind went night night it screwed me. Apparently when you have a large amount of gas it is tough to hold it in when you are not conscious. This particular sleep fart was not quiet. It was very loud. Like air horn loud. Like those horns at the World Cup. Remember those? Vuvuzelas. Yeah, it sounded like a vuvuzela. And it happened more than once. Three times actually, if I remember correctly. Not sure if anyone ever heard it or knew who it was. I never asked and didn't want to know.

Wait...what?

2011-10-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

Today, I literally had the following conversation with a guy in my office. I don't know his name(I've never talked to him before and he works in a different department) so we will refer to him as Bob. He sits next to the copier which I was using to make some copies. The conversation went like this:

Bob: So who are you taking tonight, Chicago or Detroit?

Me: Chicago?(confused tone)

Bob: Yeah Chicago or Detroit?

Me: What do you mean?

Bob: The Bears and Lions, Monday Night Football.....

Scott: OOOOHHHHH, football. I thought you were talking about baseball. I was thinking, "Chicago isn't in the playoffs." So yeah, umm I don't really care. I'll be watching baseball.

Talk about awkward. I guess what are the chances that the Detroit Lions would be playing a Monday Night Football game the same night that the Detroit Tigers would be playing in the ALCS? At least the Lions weren't playing the Texans (the Tigers are playing the Texas Rangers in the ALCS). That would have been really confusing.

I now realize how much of a baseball nerd I am. I honestly couldn't care less about anything that has to do with the NFL, much less the NBA. Which is weird because growing up I liked baseball, but football was the sport I loved. I loved playing it and watching it. My love loss with football probably began when both the Raiders and Rams skipped town for greener(St. Louis) and greyer(Oakland) pastures. Not having a team to root for makes it difficult. I have tried to do the fantasy thing in order to find players to root for but my teams have gone largely unattended in the past.

Going back to the conversation...I don't know what it is about me that I can't just follow my confusion with something like, "Oh Detroit for sure. Aren't they 4-0 so far?" No, I have to make it even more awkward by saying I don't care about football and that I'll be watching baseball. There is something in me that says, "Be honest! Tell him exactly what you are thinking." And before I know it I have said something that I instantly regret. My mind cannot keep up with my mouth. It happens quite often. I think I get it from my pops. Thanks Dad. :)

Google it!

2011-10-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight I decided to Google myself for fun and see what came up. I found out first and foremost that I HAVE A WIKIPEDIA PAGE! Didn't know I was that famous. You can find it here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Hayden

According my wiki page I was a ragtime composer. Hey now! Pretty cool. I was also black. Like African -American black. Don't believe me? Take a look at my picture below.

That's right boys and girls. I was a black ragtime composer. Pretty good looking chap if I do say so myself. How exciting to have my former self be connected to music. My love of music must come from my name.

Other than that little gem I didn't really find anything else to exciting. Some other chaps with my name on linked in, facebook, and twitter. Various other things.

I Love Baseball

2011-10-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

I have had baseball on my mind a lot lately. The last day of the regular seasons was one of the most incredible and momentous days in baseball that I can remember. I sat in awe on Wednesday night as the Braves and Red Sox completed two of the most historic meltdowns in baseball history and as the Rays pulled off probably the most inspiring comeback I have ever seen(Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS probably beats it but whatever). In the top of the 8th inning the Tampa Bay Rays were down 7-0 to the Yankees in what was a must win game for the Rays if they wanted to go to the playoffs. They had the exact same record as the Boston Red Sox and if both teams won or lost their last game they would have a one game playoff the next day for the AL wild card spot. At that moment the Red Sox were in the middle of their game against the Baltimore Orioles and up 3-2, looking like they were going to the post season. The Red Sox went into the bottom of the 9th inning with that same score and against the Orioles who are a vastly inferior team to the Yankees, who the Rays were playing. In that 8th inning of the Yankees/Rays game, the Rays began to show signs of life. After loading the bases with no outs, the Yankees gifted the Rays 3 runs by walking the next batter, hitting the one after that, and allowing a sacrifice fly after that. The Rays best hitter, Evan Longoria then came to the plate with 2 runners on and blasted a home run into left field making it 7-6 and putting the Rays back into the game. The Yankees ended up closing out the inning without anymore damage. In the bottom of the 9th, the Rays were down to their last out and their last strike. Pinch hitter Dan Johnson was at the plate and promptly smoked a ball to right field, barely clearing the fence. I was by myself at home, cheering out loud. Im not even a Rays fan but it was so exciting. It was probably the most exciting thing I had seen outside of a Dodgers or Angels playoff game. It was still only tied up. Back to the Red Sox/ Orioles game in the bottom of the 9th. Boston brings out their closer Papelbon (super douche) to finish the game, or so they thought. Baltimore ended up coming back in the bottom of the 9th to win the game and leave Boston hoping the Rays would lose so they could playoff the next day for the wild card spot. Less than 5 minutes after the Orioles walk off win, Evan Longoria came to the plate again and sent another ball over the left field fence AND THE RAYS WIN THE GAME!! This would have been exciting enough had it not involved Boston, but the fact that it was them that collapsed and gave up something like a 9 game lead in less than a month makes me so happy.

I have now copped a squat on the couch and am watching the Phillies/Cardinals ALDS Game 1. I am being reminded of how great post season baseball is, and at the same time happy that my Dodgers aren't in it this year. That might sound a bit odd but let me explain. Being a Dodger fan, I am naturally rooting for the Cards to win this game (after the Phillies destroyed our pennant hopes in both 08 and 09 I can never root for them). In the first inning I saw Lance Berkman absolutely crush a ball for a 3 run homer. Oh how exciting, I thought. Maybe the Cards can pull this off. Smash cut Ryan Howard of Philly hitting a 3 run shot, followed by Raul Ibanez hitting a 2 run homer, putting the Phillies back on top. Follow all that with another rally in the following inning and the score is now 9-3 Philly. Ugh. It sucks to be a St. Louis fan. I just don't think I could handle that if it was the Dodgers. Watching them fall apart both in 08 and 09 was heartbreaking. I don't know how the Sacramento Kings fans did it all those years where the Lakers kept knocking them out of the playoffs.

UPDATE: I apologize for the boringness of this post if you are not a baseball fan. I realize it isn't very entertaining.

DOG-GONNIT!

2011-09-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

I want a dog. Let me rephrase. I REALLY want a dog. I think I am beginning to understand a fraction of what women go through when they go baby crazy. I am beginning to notice little puppies everywhere I go. I even noticed the cute doggy sitting on the couch in the cars.com commercial. The dog was about .000001% of the commercial, which is about as important as a painting hanging on the wall or a magazine sitting on the coffee table, yet somehow it stuck out to me. Sheesh. It really makes me hate living in an apartment. A couple weeks ago I couldn't sleep so I inevitably went out to the living room and hopped on the interwebs. I soon found myself on a Jack Russell terrier adoption website. OMG!!! "Why do I do this to myself?" I thought. I must like to torture myself. Is there anything is this world so cute as this little guy?

Luckily Ash is on board with the dog idea, but we can't seem to agree on breed or age. I want a puppy because who the hell doesn't want a puppy? Ash apparently. Too much work. Too many messes. Blah blah blah. Yes they are a lot of work and you have to train them right, but I think there is more of a bond when you get a dog as a puppy rather than when they are 4 years old. I would be open to getting an adult dog, however, if I got to choose the breed.

Of course Ash wants something lame like a cockapoo, labradoodle, or some other ridiculous cross breed with a stupid name. On the flip side, I of course want something that she would hate like a bulldog, bull terrier, or any other manner of manly dogs. My compromise? The little guy pictured above. Yes, they are super energetic and need to be excercised regularly but they have an awesome personality. Have you ever met a Jack Russell you haven't liked? I haven't. I got the go ahead a few months ago which made me very happy. And by "go-ahead" i mean a conversation not unlike this:

Me: "Hey babe, what about a Jack Russell (picture me with a big dumb smile on my face as I show her a picture on my laptop)?

Her: Sure, ok (absolutely no feeling in her voice as she was checking her facebook or something else that she cared about more than what I was saying).

Me: Sweet! (Even bigger dumb smile on my face)

You all can probably guess how long that agreement lasted. So sad. If we had a house and yard and some real estate the decision would be really easy for us. I think both would want a labrador or retriever of some sort. Probably a black lab like my beloved Chester, God rest his soul, if I had my way. But alas we don't have anything close to a house. Actually, we still live in an apartment complex that doesn't allow dogs. Why the hell am I evening putting so much sweat into this? Because I like to torture myself. GAH!!!

Major/Minor - Thrice

2011-09-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

Thrice rarely, if ever, disappoint. I can't honestly say where my expectations were with this album. I loved their last one, Beggars, but I have also loved everything they have put out since Vheissu (for the record I have always been a fan but Vheissu turned me into a super fan). When they announced that the title of the new album would be "Major/Minor" I was a bit confused. "What a random album title?" I thought. One must admit that it doesn't roll off the tongue very easily. Once I gave the album a once over, I completely understood why they gave the album that name and thought that it was very fitting. Apparently the name references the back and forth nature from major chords to minor chords, and back again.

The album starts off with "Yellow Bellow" which sports a riff that is dirtier than a hobo's underwear. I can't say enough about how well this riff sounds against Riley's drum beats. In fact that is the case with practically the entire album. I have always been a fan of Riley's drumming but he has definitely taken it up a notch this time around. It really drives the entire album especially on tracks like "Promises" and "Call it in the air" (the little bridge after the first chorus sports some of my favorite drumming on the album). On "Call it in the air" the major/minor back and forth is really showcased.

There are a number of little gems on this album that make so much fun to listen to. I never in my life thought Thrice would write anything that sounded like a Fugazi song and yet they do here with "Cataracts" and pull it off gracefully without it sounding like a rip off. The opening riff on "Treading Paper" sounds like something off of a Pink Floyd record and yet doesn't sound out of place with the rest of the song. Of course there is also "Blur" which is easily the fastest and most aggressive song on the album. "Blur" is also propelled by Ed's bass lines. The slides he does in the chorus really give the song a bit of heaviness that would have otherwise been missing.

The strongest song on the album would have to be "Words in the Water" which is the closest thing that Thrice has ever gotten to a power ballad. If modern radio was what it should be, this song would be a #1 hit and Thrice would selling out the Honda Center instead of playing two shows at HoB Anaheim. The thing about pretty much every Thrice release though, is that even the pedestrian songs ("Blinded" and "Listen Through Me") end up being better than most bands best songs and sometimes end up being my favorite listens on the album and/or live ala "Lost Continent" from The Alchemy Index.

The album closes with "Disarmed" which was an excellent choice. The song closes out Major/Minor in a similar way that "Red Sky" closed out Vheissu, with a very epic and cinematic finish. The lyrics that Dustin has written for this song really mix well with the movement of the song itself. The song is about how death is not the end and that we will see our loved ones again. Teppei's riff on the bridge after the second chorus, which turns into the outro, is one of the most beautiful moments on the entire album. When listening to this song, one can't help but think of the loved ones that have been lost. The song is a tad dark, but ends very hopeful. That being said, I think the difference between a Thrice album, and most other music out there, is that it makes you feel something. Yes, Dustin's lyrics speak to me personally and one can't deny his unmatched delivery, but the voices of the other three band members can be heard through music both as a whole and individually. They are a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It is not a show of each person's chops, but you can also hear the expertise of each member in parts that compliment the song. The result is not only an album full of great songs, but it is a bunch of great songs that make up a cohesive album that is an enjoyable from start to finish. As stated earlier, if the world was fair this album would start out at #1 on the charts and the band would be rock stars. They will most likely have to settle for critical acclaim and year end top album honors. As for this guy, the question isn't where does this album fit in with other albums this year (its clearing the best album of the year), it is where does it fit in with the rest of their catalog. Vheissu has long been been favorite album by Thrice, but Major/Minor is making its case for being #1.

For the Record

2011-09-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I received the new Thrice record Major/Minor in the mail. When a lot of people say record, they actually album or CD. In this instance when I say record I mean an actual record, vinyl, if you will. I pre-ordered this bad boy about 2 or 3 months ago and have been not so patiently awaiting its arrival. I have bought records in the past and have a very very small "collection" of both LP's and 7 inches (what my parents refer to as a 45, only it has the small LP hole rather than the bigger 45 hole). Of the 50 or so records I have, about 10 of them are Thrice records that I cherish very much and have actually become pretty rare/expensive, according to eBay. Now this new record is important, not only continue on the collection(I think I have all their vinyl except a 7 inch single for All That's Left and the LP of their second album that I am waiting to find on yellow vinyl of which their are only 500 made), but also because the vinyl was released 2 weeks before the actual digital and CD versions are released. Furthermore, they shipped the vinyl early so I actually had it in my hands about 3 weeks before the release date on 9.20.11.

This is both awesome and terrible at the same time. On the awesome side of things, I get to listen to my favorite band's new album 3 weeks before pretty much everyone else. Of course I think that is the cat's pajamas. There is, of course, the other way of looking at things which is, this sucks that I CAN ONLY LISTEN TO THIS BEHEMOTH ON A DAMN RECORD PLAYER!! I know what you all are asking yourselves and the answer is yes, I do have one of these ancient devices called a record player. I honestly don't know how people in my parents generation did it back in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to appreciate about vinyl. It has superb sound that is unsurpassed by CD's and most, if not all, digital media forms(as far as I know). Not to mention that a record is much "cooler" than a cd and it actually physically exists unlike an mp3(read: it has stuff I can nerd out on like pictures, artwork, lyric sheets, even thank you lists, yes i am huge nerd and read all that crap). One other cool thing about records is that a lot of times nowadays they will include extra songs or features that the CD and digital versions don't. This record, for example, has liner notes on every song from all 4 members of the band talking about how the song was written, in depth discussion on the lyrics, and other fun stuff about the writing and recording of the album. That all being said, you can only listen while you are at home. WTF? Then, to make matters worse, you have to keep flipping the damn thing over. Major/Minor finds a way to worsen the deal by being a double album, meaning that the album is split between two physical records. So now I have to not only flip the record, I have to change it out for a whole new record halfway through? Damnit. How is one to right an enlightened blog posting when he is constantly having to flip and change out a record? I have always kind of known that these drawbacks have existed because like I said I have a few other records that I DO play from time to time. The reason it is becoming more apparent to me now is because this is the first time I have ever been anticipating an album coming out and my first listen has been on vinyl with no other option of format. I so badly want to put this album on my ipod so I can listen to it in my car and all day at work. How does one fully drink in an album when it is chained to a record player? I have had the record for 3 days and I have only listened to it twice all the way through. If I had it on mp3, I would have listened to it 10 times at least in the first day. 9.20.11 can not come soon enough. Maybe it will leak on the internet and I can download it beforehand so as to have it on my ipod as soon as possible. If not, I will continue to devote whatever free time I have to enjoying this materpiece, and it is a masterpiece, on my record player while nerding out with the liner notes.

Urine. You're out.

2011-08-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note. Lately at work I have been getting stuck in the bathroom with an odd, and disgusting fellow. He is an aging "hipster" who is probably in his 50's. His daily look and attire starts with his cul de sac hair line and curly red hair popping out the side and back. The there is some kind of pooka shell necklace followed by some sort of floral patterned shirt with cuff links. Then he usually has some sort of jeans that were popular back in '03 with all the crazy rips and wash. Oh yeah, don't forget about the huge plugs he has in his ears. The guy is basically a walking cliche.

So this is the guy that is always in the bathroom at the same time as me. He walks in and then proceeds to piss. Well.....try to piss. Every time I'm in there with him he has trouble pissing. A few drops here. A few drops there. Its SOOOO awkward. After his attempts at what a normal piss should be, he zips up and heads out. That's it. No hand wash? WTF? Ok, I'll admit that I have been guilty of not washing my hands after a short sesh in my own home, but not at work! And in the presence of another worker no less! He has done it more than a couple times too. Just despicable. Eww...

Gettin' Down in Chi-Town

2011-08-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ooohh Chicago....get ready for a lot of pictures. Last Friday we embarked on our trip to Chicago for Ash's cousins wedding. I had never been before and so we decided to stay a couple extra days to take in the city and celebrate our first anniversary (albeit 2 months after the actual date). The first couple days there we stayed out in the suburbs where Ash's family live. The wedding was a great time and it was great to see all her family and meet the ones that couldn't make it to our wedding last year. One fun fact about Indian weddings: the parents of the bride give cash out to all the immediate family that attend. Since the father of the bride is my father-in-law's uncle, we all qualified. Ash and I both got $50! Hazzah! (I hope its not in poor taste that I just gave that info out. Still new to all of these foreign but awesome customs.)

The day after the wedding, we got to do something I have been wanting to do for a while now. WRIGLEY FIELD!!! That's right folks. I finally got to go to THE baseball stadium. The only other ball parks that even comes close to Wrigley are Fenway in Boston and the old Yankee Stadium which isn't around anymore. Needless to say I was excited. By the way, thanks Tia for NOT getting the Wrigley sign in this picture.

We sat in the bleachers and sweated it out for 9 innings. Oh man was it hot. I literally felt like I was melting. Even though the Cubs lost 9-8 it was still a fun and exciting game to watch. It was nice to see my boy Blake Dewitt (Dodger prospect traded to the Cubs last year) hit a 2-run home run.

On Monday we headed into downtown and checked into our hotel. We stayed in a Comfort Suites since we get the employee rate and it was pretty impressive. This place was right in the thick of things on Michigan street a block or two away from the river. It was far and away the nicest Choice Hotel we both had ever stayed in. We spent the rest of the day bouncing around the city seeing this and that. First we went to the famous bean. The above picture was taking in the reflection of the bean. It was kind of overcast so we ended up going back on Tuesday to take more pictures.
After the bean we headed to these face fountain things. These fountains have a video of a face on them (there are 2 fountains) and then the face eventually makes a face the one below and water comes out of the mouth.

Apparently they filmed over 1000 people from Chicago so its next to impossible to see the same face twice. Next on the agenda was the biggest stop on our tour; literally the biggest. THE SEARS TOWER-OWER-OWER-OWer-ower!!! I like to imagine that in a big echoey voice that trails off at the end. Before I continue, can we talk about how its not even called the Sears Tower anymore? Its the "Willis Tower". Poppy cock. One of the most ridiculous things I have heard. Its like renaming Mount Rushmore and calling it the Famous Amos Famous Faces.

Atop the Sears Tower they have a little diddy called The Sky Deck. The Sky Deck is basically just a glass box that sticks out the side of the building 1450 feet in the air. That's right folks. 1450 f#$*ing feet! Holy moly. Its also not comforting when the little girls in front of you are jumping up and down on said glass. It took a little for me to get out on that glass but not too much. I was freaking out though. I made Ash take the shot below because it freaked me out too much. She did, however, make me look down through the glass before I left. So scary.

After we took the above picture, we left and I got to do what you see in the picture below.

Nothing like some Chicago style, deep dish pizza ala Giordano's. Words can't express how good this pizza is so I won't even try. I'll just use one word: cheese.
Our last day in Chicago was a busy one. We a started it off by taking the Architectural Boat Tour. What a great idea. Tickets were only $26 and they give you a 75 minute boat ride up and down the river while educating everyone on the all the major and minor buildings in downtown. To some this might sound boring but I assure you it was a blast. It was Ash's favorite part of the week and it was my second favorite, behind the Cubs game of course. I took the picture above on the tour. I'm pretty surprised at how sweet it came out. Not bad for a phone camera right?

Sears Tower behind me.
Ash and I at the end of the boat tour. The Wrigley Building is the whitish building behind us.

After the boat tour we walked over to Navy Pier and road the ferris wheel.

Me on the ferris wheel.

After our trip to around the wheel, we were inspired by the beautiful sunny day and headed back to the bean to take some better pictures. Benji, Ash's broher, and Chris met us there. See...much better right?

This last picture was at a fountain in Grant Park. Kinda cool. This was the last touristy thing we did for the trip, unless you want to count a last minute stop at Dunkin Donuts and a train ride to O'Hare. "This is the blue line."

Our last night in Chicago was spent having dinner at a classy joint across from Millennium Park called Tavern at the Park. It was the perfect place to celebrate our first year of marriage. I had the Millennium Burger which was a burger with shredded duck meat, bacon, some type fish egg stuff, and a bunch of other delights. There was so much on it that I can't really remember it all, especially since it all had frenchy sounding names. It was awesome though. Ashley went a little more traditional and decided to get the Chicken and Egg Parmesan over the Lobster Mac and Cheese, although I want to return to Chicago just to go back and try that. We finished it off with a fried banana split for dessert. SO GOOD! It was a great way to end our trip.

All in all, Chicago was awesome. I absolutely loved it and it made me realize even more how much LA sucks. It was great to walk the downtown streets with my lady and see yet another new place.

The Rocky Horror Freak Flag Show

2011-07-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Helloooooooo.....so we had a very interesting Saturday night. I planned out a fun date night for Ash and I so we could get out of the house and do something a bit more fun than going to the Olive Garden for dinner. We started out the evening with dinner in LA at a place called Shamshiri. Its a Persian Restaurant that we actually had been to 4 years ago for what I consider our first date. This would be our first return in about 10 attempts. We have been wanting to go back for some time now, but for some reason our attempts were always stifled .

This time we finally made it and it was worth it. I ordered the same lamb shank dish I ordered last time. It came with a giant plate full of rice that had raisins, dates, and some other yum yums in it that I don't remember. It was delicious. Ash ordered a chicken dish that I think trumped mine in deliciousness. If you like ethnic food, I highly recommend this place. After dinner we made a short drive over to Diddy Riese, which is right across from UCLA in Westwood. Diddy Riese makes the World's Best Ice Cream Sandwiches. All their cookies are made in house and you get to pick the kind of cookie and ice cream you want. I had cookies 'n cream with snickerdoodle cookies. Words can't describe the awesomeness.

Our next, and last, stop was the Nuart Theatre in Santa Monica for a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. For all of you that have been to one of these shows, you know the craziness that we witnessed. Everyone else, take heed before you decide to go and read carefully. The first thing you see when you roll up to the theater is a line of people that wraps around the building. These aren't normal people though. Everyone is dressed up as either a character from the movie, a slutty costume that slightly resembles someone from the movie, a slutty costume that doesn't represent anything close to a character from the movie, and people dressed straight up weirdly. It reminded me a slutty, gothic version of the morP dance in high school. The most unfortunate thing about all the sluttyness is that it is mostly people that you don't want to see dress slutty, although Ash and I did get a kick out of the little gay boys dressed in only gold booty shorts, ala Rocky. All together it really reminded me of a gathering of all the weird, sometimes creepy, people I went to high school with, only on a larger scale. Regardless of this craziness, I do have to admit that it is cool that there is a place for these people to let their freak flag fly, so to speak. I commented to Ash about what all these people would do 100 years ago when their wasn't anything like this. Its interesting to think about.

Onward we went into the theater. Oh yeah, did I mention the movie started at midnight? Well it did. We were both winding down at this point. Not for long. Before the movie started there was all sorts of nonsense going on in front of the screen (explaining the rules, friendly banter, etc). They bring all the virgins (people who are there for the first time) up on stage and humiliate them. If you are a virgin they write a big V on your forehead with lipstick so everyone knows. Luckily for us, we had each others backs and entered the experience unscathed by the all the virgin nonsense. "Oh yeah we have been before..." Haha.

The movie starts...FINALLY. It felt like it took forever for it to actually start. Once the movie starts, there are people dressed like the characters from the movie that act out the entire movie on a stage in front of the screen. For the most part it worked really well. 90% or more of the characters looked almost exactly like the ones on the screen. Naturally they had an easier time finding girls to take these parts so a few girls played mens parts but it worked for the most part. Only one of the characters was overly distracting to the both of us.

All throughout the movie the audience yells at the screen and in one way or another makes fun of the characters or movie itself (usually the cheesiness of it all). We both agreed that the most annoying and aggravating part of the whole experience is when 3 or 4 people that work their walk up and down the aisles for the entire show and yell out little quips or quotes that they think are funny but mostly fall flat. Often times they were trying to play off what the character is saying by asking an inappropriate question before the character says yes, or something like that. Something like, "Hey Riff Raff, where do you keep the bodies of all the little boys you raped and killed?!" The character from the movie follows it by saying "Over here..." There were a few times where I laughed but for the most part it was just super obnoxious. Half the time you couldn't even follow what was going on because they were talking over the movie. A couple times I wanted get up and tell the guy he wasn't funny and to shut the f up. I restrained myself though.

The uncomfortable moment of the night came when we saw a couple kids under 10 years old there with their parents. I have no idea what kind of a horrible parent you have to be to subject your child to something like that. Weird.

Overall it was a pretty fun experience. If you can look past the quirkiness of the people that work there and go there, and don't mind a lot of dirty humor, I would highly recommend going. We didn't get home till around 3am. Ugh, so tired. At least we can't complain about a boring weekend, right?

Yellow Belly

2011-07-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

My favorite band on Earth, Thrice, released this song this past week on their Soundcloud page. Needless to say, not only am I excited for the rest of the album(coming out 9.20.11), but I have been listening to this song nonstop for the past few days. I love love love it. The guitar riff at the beginning is so dirty. The drumming sounds pretty stellar as well. I believe the song is about child abuse(?), judging by the lyrics. Pretty powerful stuff. Anyways, I hope some of you enjoy this half as much as I am.

Thrice - Yellow Belly by VagrantRecords

Arrested by the Cred Police

2011-07-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

I like to consider myself a music enthusiast(read:snob). Someone who knows a lot of music and a lot about music. I also like to think that my tastes are pretty diverse and what most would describe as "good". I put good in quotes because there isn't one artist that is universally liked or hated by everyone. Even The Beatles have their haters and bands like Creed and Train somehow sell millions of records. There are times(probably more than I'd like to admit) where I am drawn to a band that I know I probably shouldn't like but I do. Evanescence is one of these bands. I'm not saying they are my favorite band or that I even love them. They do have their moments though and when those moments arise I can't help but to really enjoy them. First off, the above music video is terrible. I am not sure if it is more weird or lame, but it has a healthy dose of both. I get the analogy it is trying to make, but it just comes off as terrible.

As weird as this video is though, I really dig this song. Under all the corporate rock and overproduction is a really catchy and pretty melody sung by a front woman with (in my opinion) one of the prettiest voices in rock music. The pre-chorus and chorus are so dark yet so pretty. I feel like if the record company/producer let them do there thing without all slick production and generic sounding guitar tones they could really be a great band. Ok, maybe not great but more than what they were.

The funny thing is that while I enjoy this song so much, as well as a few others of theirs, I feel the need to keep it under wraps. Like if someone I respected, as far as music taste goes, found out I liked I would be way embarrassed. I couldn't say how I really felt about them. I'd have to say something like, "Evanescence? Oh yeah, that band sucks. Totally." I feel like such a tool saying that, but I would feel like an even bigger tool if I admitted I liked them. Haha. And this is where I get caught up in my own snobbery. Why can't I just admit that I like what I like? Who cares what other people think? Me apparently. I think one of my biggest fears is that people will think I have crappy taste in music.

There are times where I will in fact break this rule. For some reason, even though it is probably a bigger crime against music, I feel ok telling people that I actually really do enjoy Limp Bizkit's first album. Or, yes, I am a huge Blink 182 fan. I guess admitting you like Blink 182 these days is pretty safe considering the impact they had on my generation. That was not case when I was in high school though, especially if you were in the local punk scene like I was. Blink 182 was NOT punk rock and if you liked them you were a pussy. Sorry for the language but its the truth. If I had rolled up to a Guttermouth or Ignite show in a Blink shirt, I probably would have gotten my ass kicked. Hell, I saw a kid at a Thursday/Bring Me the Horizon show a year or so ago wearing a Blink shirt and I still kind of wanted to punch him in the face. So I'm a hypocrite. I admit it! Admitting you have a problem is the first step to resolving it, right? That will have to be enough for now. We can't face all our demons in one day right?

Also, please don't go starting a rumor that I am a Limp Bizkit fan. Fred Durst sucks and so does that band. I just enjoy their first album which has an unfortunate lame name that I won't list here. Its also unfortunate and embarrassing that I like that record. I hate that I do.

2011-07-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

Will Work For Peanuts

2011-07-05T19:59:00.001-07:00

The search as ended, for now at least. I have found employment with a reverse mortgage company called AAG in their accounting department. The pay is less than I was wanting, but times are tough and in this economy you take what you can get, for the time being. I had been interviewing with another company for a position that was higher paying, and more than a bit more desirable, but that fell through in the 11th hour. I won't go into the details of what happened, but needless to say I was screwed over, yet again, by my past employer. Luckily, I somewhat had this other position with AAG in my back pocket.

Although the pay isn't much more than I was making before with Fastech, I will say that the working conditions are leaps and bounds beyond what I have been experiencing the last 3 years. I genuinely like the people I work with and the controller here is very friendly. They seem to be really happy that I will be working there and I can tell already that they will be happy with the work I do. The past couple weeks I have had more good days at work than I have the last couple years. Thats always a good sign, right?

I would like to thank everyone who was praying for us in our time of need. Thanks to all those prayers, what we thought would be a really difficult time ended up being like more of an extended unpaid vacation for me (trust me that my mind was not viewing it as this at the time).

As for the storm trooper picture, it mostly made me laugh, but it also reminded me of how I felt every day after work at Fastech. Enjoy

Sidenote: This summer's new music has more than lived up to expectations so far. I have been rocking the following albums a lot lately.

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

2. August Burns Red - Leveler

3. Unearth - Darkness in the Light

4. Set Your Goals - Burning at Both Ends (still not totally into this one)

5. Nick 13 - Nick 13

Lay Off Without the Pay Off

2011-06-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I received some devastating news. "I'm going to have to let you go." Something most people, other than those in police custody, never want to hear. I could go through the whole rigamarole of why and blah blah blah, but sufficeth to say that my boss got the call from the owner that someone needed to go due to lack of business and I was the unlucky one. "Do I get any severance pay?" "No, they don't do anything like that here." They don't do anything like that here? Are you friggin' kidding me? Wow, so after 3 years of being underpaid and under appreciated, with not a raise to be seen, you are going to "let me go" with no notice* and no severance. Why not follow that up by telling me to go "F" myself? Jeez. The icing on the cake, or rather the twisting of the knife, was that they told me all of this at 10am in the morning. Meaning that they didn't even give me the dignity of cleaning out my desk alone in an empty office. I had to gather my belongings in a box in front of EVERYONE in the office. I think that was the most humiliating thing I have ever had to do. Absolutely brutal.

Now I'm on the job hunt. While this is a situation I would never wish my self to be in, it is forcing me to change what is wrong in my life. It is no secret to anyone that knows me that I hated that job. I hated the company, I hated my coworkers, and I was growing tired of not advancing and doing the same thing over and over. I did, however, enjoy getting a steady paycheck, small though it may have been. The Missis has been having to put up with my negativity on the subject for the past year, something I am not proud of. As I stated earlier, I do not like being without that paycheck, but this experience is forcing me to find something new that will make me happy and hopefully more $$$. Luckily, I have excellent friends and family to help in my time of need by passing my resume along to their colleagues and by notifying me of various opportunities. I am confident that I will find something new and that my(our) life will consequently be better. Here's to new beginnings.

*Why is it that most places want you to give them at least a two week notice if you are going to quit, but they NEVER give you a notice if they are going lay you off? I think that is incredibly ridiculous for them to not offer you the same courtesy.

Birthday @ The Getty Villa

2011-06-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

Last week was me berfday and the Lady took me out for a day on the town. Its hard for me to pick out a "highlight" of the day since it included so many awesome events such as a full body massage, an ice cream sandwich from Diddy Riese, and dinner at the best garlic restaurant in town, The Stinking Rose, but our visit to The Getty Villa might have been my favorite. Here are some pictures I took while there. Enjoy.

Ah Summer time...

2011-06-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

The beginning of summer is probably my favorite time of year. There is so much to look forward to. I get to immerse myself in sunshine, beach days, bonfires, BBQ's, and baseball. I don't get to the beach too often with my work schedule(read: too embarrassed to show my fat self anywhere near a beach), but I do like to take in as many bonfires, BBQ's, and baseball games as I can. I can't think of too many things I'd rather do than enjoy a hot dog at ball game whether it is a scorching hot day game in the sun, or a cool evening game that begins as the sun is setting in beautiful Southern California.

Aside from baseball and beach days, there are a few other reasons I have a love for this particular time of year; new music and blockbuster movies. I don't really know why, but summertime is a popular time to release new music if you are band. From October to somewhere around the middle of May it seems that there are a few albums here and there that I will want to check out. Usually about 1 or 2 albums a month. Then, right about the time it starts to get hot, and the April showers have ceased, there is a gigantic influx of new music. I don't know if it has to with bands wanting to get there music out for summer parties or if it has something more to do with bands not touring during the winter and therefore, spending that time recording. Albums recorded in the winter would probably have a release date in the summer. Furthermore, most bands do the bulk of their touring in the summer and probably want an album to tour on, so hence the new music in the summer. I think I'm on to something there. Regardless, it makes for an amazing 3 or 4 month stretch for any music fiend such as myself. In the last 3 weeks I have been hot on the trails of a few different releases that have been more than ok. Manchester Orchestra's "Simple Math" is my favorite record thus far into the year. In fact, I haven't been wowed like this by an album since I don't know when. I would recommend this album to anyone and everyone. Balance and Composure's "Separation" has also been heavy on my ipod. Check it out if you dig mid to late 90's emo acts like Jimmy Eat World and The Get Up Kids. Other albums coming out soon that I am excited about are:

-Nick 13 - Self-titled

-August Burns Red - Leveler

-Touche Amore - Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me

-La Dispute - No title yet but will be released in late summer

-Thrice - Major/Minor

On to the movies. I already started the summer off right with a viewing of Fast Five. Pure, unrelenting ridiculousness in movie form. I don't think there was on realistic scene in the entire movie. From Vin Diesel and Paul Walker falling 2oo feet into water and surfacing unscathed, to a giant truck sized safe being tugged around Rio by two Dodge Chargers. It was unrealistic all the way through and that is what I loved and expected. Thats what one is supposed to love about a summer blockbuster right? Movies that are high on action and budget, and low on acting ability and reality. Transformers 3 will prove to be amazing I am sure (even if I do hate Shia LeDouche). Other movies that I am anticipating:

-X-Men: First Class

-Captain America

-Green Lantern

-Super 8

-Cowboys & Aliens

Whether it be music, movies, baseball, or BBQ's, summertime brings a plethora of gifts. I for one will partake in it all. I encourage you all to do the same.

I'm back...again....

2011-05-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have the best wife ever. The last few months have been particularly rough for me. Day in and day out I go to a job that I have a deep hatred for. There is nothing like having to put in a full days work at a place where you feel under paid and under appreciated. I'm not sure if I hate my line of work, or just my job in particular, but something is telling me that I may have chosen the wrong line of work. Accounting? That was basically everyones reaction when hearing what I was going to major in. When I expressed my current feelings to my dad, he asked, "Can I tell you something without you being mad or offended?". Sure. "When you first told me you wanted to go into accounting I was really surprised. Not because you aren't smart or couldn't do it, but because I figured you would do something a little more creative or something where you could deal with people more." I have heard this exact story, or a version of it, from a number of different people. My first reaction was, what the heck? Why didn't you tell me this when I was in school? After thinking for a bit, he probably did tell me and it just went in one ear and out the other.

What to do? I can't possibly go on hating my job and not do anything about. I guess the first step is to find a new job. Ashley and I have been wanting to move to Austin for a while now. I think the key is try and find something out there in accounting since that is where my experience is. It will be a lot easier to find a job out of state in my field. Once we get there I can see how much I like the job and either continue on in the field if I like it, or move on if I decide once and for all that accounting is not for me.

So back to the beginning of the post. Why is my wife the best? For starters, she knows me and my needs. Yesterday was a particularly hard day where I could hardly focus on my work. All I could think about were the things I would rather be doing, most notably something having to do with music. I feel like that is somewhat of a pipe dream though. The music industry is a dying industry and there aren't very many jobs available. I have often thought it would be great to write for a magazine or website of some sort, writing reviews or features or something. The main problems there are that my degree is in accounting not journalism, and that I lack any applicable experience in that area. Not to mention that I am not that great of writer in the first place (was that a double negative?). Anyway, knowing all these things, my lovely wife suggested that I start on my blog again. She said she always enjoyed reading it and that I was a creative and good writer (thanks babe). I thought that was a pretty good idea. I need a creative outlet. Here's to me kickstarting this bad boy and getting it back up and running. I promise most of my posts won't be this boring. This was more of an update of sorts anyways. If you like what you read, please tell your friends. Its always nice to have people reading.

Greetings from the beach of Huntington

2009-09-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

It has been a great while since I have checked in here and let you all know how I am doing, if you are still there. A lot has happened since my last update and I wish to expound upon those events if I may. First and foremost, I finally moved out. Talk about a ticking time bomb. I love my Mom and LaMar but I think it was the best for all parties that I finally take the plunge and move out. I think all three of us are easier to love from a distance. After a year of cramping each others styles, it was time I move on.

So where does a 26 year old, single, Mormon guy from Southern California move to? Why Huntington Beach of course. I'm currently livin

g on 14th St. about 4 blocks from the sand. I'm enjoying my time here, although I'm convinced I am enjoying being on my own period, more than I am enjoying living in HB itself. Don't get me wrong, I like my roommates and the weather and surroundings are beautiful, but I do have to say that living here is a bit overrated. I'm anxiously awaiting Fall to come and eventually Winter. This hot weather is brutal when you don't have AC.

Lately it seems I have been getting the question, so

whats new? Is that a question I am going to get my whole life, or is it just by chance I have gotten that a lot lately? I don't know. Is anything ever really new? Its like, once you graduate from school and are working full time, how often do you change your routine enough that it warrants telling someone about? I would guess not very often. I don't know what is new, but I do know that my life right now currently consists of me waking up and going to work every day and coming home to study for the CPA exam. Period. The end. I don't think anyone here can possibly understand the crappyness of that schedule (except Grandpa Money if you are reading this). Studying for the CPA exam is pretty much like tric

king your mind on a daily basis. You have to tell yourself all sorts of lies to get yourself to study and to do keep studying. Because the truth is that studying sucks and is completely boring. It feels like 10 minutes is an hour. If you don't lie to yourself, you never get to it.

I decided to save the best for last. Not to presume that my life is the most important thing in all of your lives, but I am pretty positive most of the people reading this know I have dating a girl for awhile now. Actually we just celebrated our 6 month anniversary. That is BY FAR the longest any girl in my life has ever put up with my crap. I think we have a keeper here folks. We dated on and off for 5 months or so before that and had been friends for about 2 years before that. Needless to say, we have known each other for quite awhile now. I am not ashamed to say that I love her very much and she is the best thing in my life. I honestly couldn't ask for a better girlfriend. She surprises me on almost a daily basis with how amazing she is. That sounds so cliche but it is so true. For example, last weekend she com

pletely surprised me, with the help of my mom, and came to visit me for the weekend. Or the time she sent me a card and an Edible Arrangement (which are delicious by the way) the morning of my CPA exam wishing me luck. She loves me for me, and pushes me to be better. I feel so lucky and blessed to have her in my life.

My Indian Princess and I

P.S. I'm also at the point where I have realized she is always right. I have surrendered. It's a humbling feeling.

Movies Lie. So do girls.

2008-12-28T01:38:00.000-08:00

What is it with movies, particularly romantic comedies? I officially have a love/hate relationship with them. While I love the light-hearted comedic banter, they always make it seem like it is so easy to find a totally cool, usually hot, and single girl. I hate it. It just doesn't happen. Girls like that are so few and far between. I find it very depressing. There are few things worse than being a rough around the edges Mormon trying to find a girl. I hate dating. It sucks. I hate girls and the stupid games they play. Heaven forbid a girl want to settle down with a nice guy like myself. I honestly don't understand it. Girls will flock to total douche bag losers that treat them like shit, but a nice guy like myself that treats women with respect seems to have some sort problem with finding one. There seems to be no balance in this world. People (girls) seem to either view me as some sort of saint who judges them because they do this that or whatever(these usually being girls who aren't LDS or who are inactive LDS members) or as a bad seed, a heathen if you will (these usually being the molly mormon type). Or maybe this is just how I view most girls I meet. Either they are too mormon or not mormon enough. I don't know. Can't anyone just meet me in the middle? Why is it that if you don't do something that someone else does they think you are judging them for it? I hate my life. I think I may go off the grid for a while. Not that I have been good at updating this thing as of late but I think I may take a longer break. I already deleted my facebook. Please don't comment and ask me what happened. I don't want to talk about it. Also, don't comment and tell me to cheer up. Better yet, just don't comment at all. I just needed to get my thoughts down.

Face Melting 101

2008-11-23T17:25:00.000-08:00

This weekend was one built for the gods of metal. After a long week in the office, I needed some sort of release. Friday night I went with Jeff, Amy, and Heather to the Grove in Anaheim to see As I Lay Dying. Yes, a very metal name. As I Lay Dying happen to be Christian metal act, which sounds like a bit of a conundrum but it works well I think. Anyways, one of the opening acts of the show was Bring Me the Horizon from England. I have been really digging on their new cd for the past couple weeks and was even more excited to see them than AILD.

Other than crappy sound, Bring Me the Horizon blew me away. For an opening band, the crowd was really into it as well. After much head banging and rocking they left me very satisfied. I thought they were going to steal the show to be honest. Then AILD came on. Holy crap. They were filming a live DVD of the performance so I think the crowd was getting into it even more than normal. Needless to say, they melted my face with their constant rocking and shredding. After their last song, Jeff, Amy, and I decided to move to the front, as we were enjoying from afar and knew they would do an encore. By the way, can just say that encore's are ridiculous? I hate them. Its like bands now include it on their set list and plan to come out again. I would refuse to do them if I were in a band. Its so dumb. They leave the stage like they are done full well knowing that they are coming back out. It really gives it away because they lights remain off and the house music doesn't come on. I digress. So, we decided to move up for the last few songs. They played two of my favorites for the encore. I haven't been in a mosh pit since probably high school. Probably for a couple reasons. I used to go in them in high school when I was big into punk music. Punk music probably sounds worse live than on the cd. So you really arent missing much by going in the pit. Now that I usually see bands that actually have...talent?....I like to sit back and watch and enjoy the music. So after i don't know how many years of not going in a mosh pit i finally returned on Friday night. All I gotta say is good times! I had a lot of fun. I forgot how gross and sweaty you get sure, but it was a lot of fun.

Last night we went to LA to see In Flames at the brand new Club Nokia. Unfortunately I had a headache from the get go. Listening to some crappy opening French metal band play for 30 minutes when you have a headache is not fun. In Flames rocked my world. My neck was already hurting from the previous night, but I rocked out some more to In Flames. In Flames is a sweet Swedish metal band who pretty much wrote the book on metal from that area. They have been around for like 15 years and have a huge catalog of albums that even I don't know. Probably about half the songs they played I didnt know, but the other half I did know were rad. My face was melted once again. I'm pretty burned out now. Luckily its only a 3 day week!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2008-10-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

First off, does anyone else hate it when its 2:00 AM and you suddenly have an awesome idea for a blog post? This happened to me last night. I wanted to get up right then and there and spend an hour typing it up, but knew I would be super tired in the morning, and I was also already really tired at the moment. So, I decided to just type it up today. No problem, right? WRONG. It would easy enough to do if I could remember what the crap I wanted to write about. I still have no idea what it was about. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

But, alas, I do have a bit of good news to write about for those of you interested in my life. I would like to formally announce that I, Scott Andrew Hayden, will once again be a contributing member of society starting this Monday. That's right, I got a job today. Excitement doesn't begin to explain my feelings. I'll be working for a company called FASTech that is located in Buena Park. They do a lot of gas station maintenance such as nozzles and tanks and all that stuff. The told me they were qualified to build a gas station from the ground up, but they basically stuck with the maintenance of them. I'll be a staff accountant for them working directly under the controller. I'm excited to finally be working again, and to be making money. This last month and a half have sucked because I have had pretty much no money to go out with. Luckily, parents have gracious enough to help me out with my bills. Thanks again!

Also, I have received my CPA exam study materials in the mail. I know its going to suck studying all that time but I have to admit I am excited to start. Its kind of a headache to apply to take the test with the state. So hopefully I'll get all that squared away soon and start taking care of these tests.

Vortex Man

2008-10-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

I was watching the newest episode of Heroes online last night and they had a new villain that can make black holes/vortex's appear out of no where and he throw whatever he wants in there. I think that guy actually exists in real life and came to my house and threw my sunglasses and digital camera in one of the black holes. If anyone reading this has any leads on where my camera and sun glasses might be, let me know.

Grrrr....

2008-10-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

I can't find my sun glasses or digital camera. What the heck? This is very upsetting to me.

Nice corn rows, man.

2008-10-07T22:59:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a career fair in Ontario to look for a job. It ended up sucking really bad because I drove all the way out to Ontario, drove around for 20 minutes looking for a parking spot, and waited in line another 20 minutes only to discover there were only 15 companies there, none who were offering any jobs that had to do with accounting or auditing. What the heck? I love when it says on the flier that there will be people there from the accounting industry and there aren't any there. Ridiculous. While standing in line that 20 minutes I started to observe my fellow line-waiters. I was astonished at what I saw. It looked like most people made some type of effort to look presentable to possible future employers. There were, however, a distinguished few who looked like they made absolutely no effort to look presentable. A few guys looked like they were going to play basketball after (I won't mention their race). One lady was wearing a teal t-shirt with a beanie. And if that wasn't bad enough, the tag of the beanie was sticking out. Its like, did you look in the mirror at all before you left? I guess if they did look in the mirror before they left and still looked like that it would be even worse. Let's hope they were just negligent in that department. Do these people really wonder why they are currently unemployed? I saw a few college age kids with ridiculous hair. Any of you who knew me in highschool know that when I say ridiculous hair, it must be outrageous. Word to the wise: If you are a guy and you have your ear pierced so large that a pencil can fit through it, you should probably go apply at Hot Topic, not Wells Fargo or any other business that takes themselves seriously. Another hint, if you don't own a collared shirt for an interview, much less a tie, just stay home. You aren't getting the job anyways. The good thing about today was looking at natures rejects and feeling better about myself.

P.S. Most people dressed appropriately. Only about 10% to 15% were under par.

Jesus is a friend of mine.

2008-10-02T03:18:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank Jeff Stone. You have out done yourself again sir.

WARNING: DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU HATE CHEESY SPIRITUAL STUFF!!

2008-10-02T02:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my life kind of sucks right now. I'm broke and I don't have job. In church last Sunday, someone baring their testimony mentioned the phrase "take inventory of your lives". Believe me, I am just as surprised as you all are that I actually took something from church. Its a rarity. Anyways, I really liked that phrase. Take inventory of your life. Its so easy to think about all the crap that is going on in your life and how much it sucks. It seems as though my life gets worse on a daily basis. No money. No job. Stacking up bills. Now student loans are knocking at the door. Its hard to not think constantly how much your life sucks at the moment. Take inventory of your life. But really, what does that all add up to? Some figure that will erase when I finally get a job, or a few months after. It basically all boils down to that. Me not having a job. When I think about it that way, its not so bad actually, especially when compared to the blessings I currently have. Take inventory of your life. Count the blessings. As I was laying in bed last night I started to think about all the blessings in my life right now. I'm not going to name all the ones I thought of but there a lot. Seriously...a lot. It got me thinking to how bad my life could actually be, or rather, how bad some other people actually have it. I find it very easy to forget ALL the blessings I have in my life. Its a lot easier to complain. One particular blessing I just want to touch on is friends. I really have some of the best friends a person could ask for. They aren't just people I hang out with. They are people I can talk about life and my future with. People I can talk to about my struggles. Anyways, I am just really thankful for them because they get me through a lot. Chances are if you are reading this then I am talking about you. Except all you weirdo's out there that read my blog that I don't know. Haha.

PS The Dodgers won Game 1 of the NLDS tonight against the Cubs. It marks only the second post-season game they have won since they won the World Series in 2008. Thats something to be thankful for!

Old Yearbook Pictures

2008-09-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Enjoy these old year book photos of me.

Momma's Boy

2008-09-08T01:20:00.000-07:00

Today was my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday MOM!! I won't say how old she is partly because I don't think you are supposed to do that (right?) and partly because I'm not sure how old she is. haha, sorry Mom. I think its somewhere in the late 30's though *wink*. Actually, I know what year she was born so I guess I could figure it out if I tried. Anyways, I get constantly prodded by my brother for being a momma's boy, mostly because I am the baby of the family and get treated as such. Today I gladly stand before you and accept my momma's boy-dom. I love my mom. She's always been there for me when I have needed her. Thanks for the place to stay right now by the way, Mom. I won't bore everyone by going into details but sufficeth it to say that she is great and I love her and its her birthday. I think she likes to think of herself as "the cool mom" but then second guesses herself sometimes. What she doesn't know is after all my friends meet her they talk about how cool my mom is. So despite your lack of love for screamy music, thinker movies, and your own second guess, you really are the cool mom. Happy Birthday Mom, I LOVE YOU!!

By the way, this little clip reminds me of myself bugging my mom when I was a kid.

Brain Drill

2008-09-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Right now I feel like a drill is going through ear, penetrating my brain, and coming out the other side. Im being punished for not having a job to go to today, by the neighbors doing some kind of carpentry. Thats right Fish, carpenTry. I should also note that I reread my last post recently and was appalled at all the spelling and grammatical errors. I sincerely apologize for how hard and annoying it is to read any of my posts. I promise to proof read from now on.

As stated above, my last temp assignment ended on Friday. What the heck, man? I'm really sick of not having a permanent job. I hated Craparoni Grill, but at least I knew I was there as long as I wanted to be. I really don't like this temp business, or even "temp to hire" business. What does temp to hire mean anyways? I am still confused about the idea of it. I have thus decided to look for something on my own. Sure if the temp agency throws something my way I'll take it for the paycheck, but other than that I have decided to rely on myself for finding something. I remember being out of a job in college and how much I hated interviewing and filling out applications. Real jobs are even worse. I guess the only thing about it that is good is that I'll be a lot more excited when I get hired on at an CPA firm than I was when I got hired on at Macaroni Grill.

In other news I have decided to take an institute class on Tuesday nights this semester. I figure now that I have my nights open from work and I don't have homework, because I am GRADUATED, I should take the time to study the good word a bit more. That and it should help cure the social deficiencies that plague my life constantly. So yeah, two birds, one stone, that old chestnut. Im not even sure what the class is on to be honest. Hopefully not Old Testament.

Lastly, I finally got Snubbs registered in California. Snubbs is my car by the way. I can't even say how much of a relief it is to finally have that done. Anyone else ever driven with expired plates that expired 4 months prior? Talk about nerve racking. I think the worst experience was when I came across a sobriety check in Brea with 5 or 6 cop cars, and freaking out that they would see my plates. I am now pleased to say that Snubbs is legal and driving in a city near you.

Deja Hoo

2008-08-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did something that I have not done in about 3 1/2 months. I'm almost embarrassed to say it. No, I am embarrassed to say it. "Hello, my name is Scott and I shop at Wal-Mart." Then followed by a warm, "Hi Scott,". Yes my friends I went to Wal-Mart. I honestly didn't see really how bad it was until I went to the one here in California. In Utah I used to go all the time and did the majority of my shopping there. The one in Orem frequented by most UVSC and BYU students and thus presents an overall normal atmosphere. Not so much here in California. Wal-Mart here attracts every hispanic, misfit, and hick within a 25 mile radius. After walking I immediately felt a panic set over me and a general,"What the crap am I doing here?!" set in. I then proceeded to move as quickly as possible and get the hell out of there so as to not get hepatitis or some other flesh eating disease that festers in that place. Luckily I only had two items on my list. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart is the only place around here that sells either one and its still a bit of a distance away. The first item is my Myoplex drinks for Body-for-life that are an absolute must.

The second item on my list is something very special to me that I have not had in a long while. One word, two syllables. Simly...YooHoo. Back in Utah, drinking a nice can of "Frosty Hoo" with Stone Bone and Cory Mon was a time honored tradition, a ritual if you will. You might be asking yourself, whats a Frosty Hoo? A Frost Hoo, my friends, is a Yoo-Hoo that has been put in the freezer and pulled out when it is halfway between frozen and thawed out. Its almost some what of a limbo between drink and slushy. Its really the Narnia of drinks. Its super hard to find, but when you find it, its the most glorious thing known to mankind, or animalkind. Im pretty sure that if you water your plants with Frosty Hoo, they will grow not only large, but beautiful as well. All of natures creatures and plants love Frosty Hoo. My point here is that as bad as Wal-Mart is, it is worth going there in order to obtain this lovely, chocolately drink. As tipped back my first Hoo in almost 4 months I thought of all my brothers back in Utah and all the good times had there. Cheers boys!

*Side note: I actually purchased the cans and not the boxes pictured. The cans hold more and the aluminum gets them colder. Its science.

The Life of a 25 yr old, Single, LDS Male

2008-08-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

As of late, I have been trying to enjoy my singleness, or solo-idity if you will. Those of you that view single life as a mere dream that is somewhat of a blur might be wondering what it is you exactly do when you are single. The main advantage of being single is time. Time to do so many things that I would seemingly not be able to do if I was not single. Seeing that my idea of fun isn't getting hammered on Jaeger and chasing after girls, I am forced to come up with more intelligent things to do.

The first great thing about being single and working a 9 to 5, is that right after you get home and finish eating the baseball game is on. I would say that at least 3 out of 5 weeknights are spent watching the Dodger game. Few things make me more happy than sitting down and watching a good ball game.

For those of you that know me at least mildly, know my love for music. So many of my married friends that used to love music as much or nearly as much as I do, either lose interest in music or just don't have time for it anymore. I don't think that will ever happen to me, but I do have to admit that once I am married I will not be able to devote as much time to music as I do now, unless in the event that I find someone like me who is obsessed with music and just happens to have similar taste. Not likely to happen. The past few months I have had the opportunity to see a few shows at the Knitting Factory in LA including Mike Park and Chuck Ragan. I also have a few good shows coming up in August and September. Point being here that I have the chance to pretty much entrench myself in music. Nothing excites me more than finding a new band that absolutely rocks me.

Yes single life does have its disadvantages like the Singles Ward, or anything having to with single mormon activities like dances. Nothing makes me lose hope more than a 4-Square tournament for FHE. But then you also have brief flashes of excellence such as watching your married friends go see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 while you watch UFC with the boys. Haha.

This is definitely not a knock on being in a relationship or married life because I would welcome both with open arms if the girl was right. Rather its a celebration of what my current situation has to offer. What excites me even more is when I move out from the parents house. Watch out!

Meet Maylene...my new girlfriend.

2008-07-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

For all you of out there that ask me if I am dating, this post is for you. No, I don't actually have a new girlfriend named Maylene. Maylene is the name I gave to the guitar my mom/dad (depends on who you ask) so graciously gave to me. I hope either one doesn't mind me taking the liberty of naming her. She is a beautiful Gibson with a lot of personality, as you can tell from the pictures. I've had her for while but have been busy with either school, work, both, or other things. I have finally found the time and desire to get to know her. My friend Greg plays guitar and so the other day I went over and had him show me a few things. Funny thing is that while in Utah I had two roommates, and one friend that was over all the time, that played. But like I said I was very busy then. So my passion has been re-ignited and I have been playing the past few days in my free time. I still totally suck, which is expected for the next long while, but Im actually having fun just playing around. And since I currently don't have a girlfriend I plan on spending some time getting to know Maylene. BTW, you might be saying to yourself, where did the name Maylene come from? Well, I was recently introduced to a band called Maylene and the Sons of Disaster who totally rock my socks. And then once they rock my socks off, they finish the job by melting my face with fine southern guitar riffs mixed with some great modern licks. Think of a 2008 version of Lynard Skynard. A little bit harder and rougher, with some double kick bass drum here and there. I have really been impressed with them. Anywho, I thought the name Maylene was cool so thus I have named my guitar after it. Apparently Maylene the real girl was a bank robber in Alabama back in the day and robbed banks with her sons. Back to me. The song I have been "playing" is a song called "Knowledge" by ska/punk greats Operation Ivy. Its your basic 3-chord punk song, so a good one for me to learn.

In other news, I am going to join a softball league that starts in September with my friend Bill and some of his friends from work. I'm pretty excited about it. Its all guys team which I both like and don't like. I like it because it will obviously be more competitive, but I don't like it because I'm obviously not playing around girls, even furthering my singleness. It should be a lot of fun. I haven't played anything close to baseball/softball since before high school with the exception of one or two church games. So its time to hit the cages and start tossing the ball around.

BFL 2.0

2008-07-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Oh man, what to write about. Here I sit again with the dilemma of what to blog about. My first thought is to complain about the absolute ridiculousness that was my sacrament meeting today. However, in an effort to not bombard you all with babble about how politics do not belong in a sacrament talk, let alone the main focus of the talk, I will talk about something else.

I decided to hop on the Body-For-Life train again. I was really happy with the results I got the first time, but ultimately not satisfied with how I look. Soooooooo, last week I went shopping and bought all the appropriate foods and nutrients that are forwith necessary for such a venture. Don't ask me why I said forwith, I don't even think that is a real word. I had an excellent week as far as diet goes, which is the most important part but only managed to make it to the gym a few times. This week it shall be my goal to get there every day from Monday through Saturday. Yeah, thats about it. The end.

PS Yes I know my life is lame.

Ugly Uggla, Anderson Accounting, and Live in LA

2008-07-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

So its been a while since my last post. I know I keep telling everyone that I am going to post more often now, but I think I have just come to the conclusion that that is just not going to happen. Life is crazy busy. I'll get an idea of something to blog about but by the time I can get around to typing it up, it is old news. That being said, you will updates and blogs of plenty, but its not going to be every week. I'll try for once a week but I am more thinking it will be about 3 a month or so. We'll see. If you don't like sports or baseball skip the next paragraph.

My first item of business is the MLB All-Star game. I now am referring to it as the "All-Star" game (picture me doing finger quotes while saying it). Some of the names that are brought into this game are absolutely ridiculous. To put home field advantage for the World Series on a game played by a glorified high school student body election is a joke. I think about half of the AL team was composed of Yankees and Red Sox. Wow, there are other teams America. Then there is Dan Uggla who I blame for the NL losing the game. I don't think he recorded a hit the whole game and he into ia double play just when the NL had a chance to take the lead. Also, don't forget about the back to back errors he made. What an overrated piece of crap player. How he made the team is beyond me. There is an obvious lack of quality players at that position in the NL. Chase Utley is amazing but everyone else is pretty average. To be honest though I would have rather have seen 40 Year old Jeff Kent play. I digress.

Next on the agenda is Anderson Bat Company. I think I have been at my job now for like 4 weeks? Something like that. I am enjoying it a lot so far. Everyone I work with is really cool and its a pretty relaxed atmosphere. For example, after going to bed at 3:30 Am from just seeing the Dark Knight at a midnight showing, I was too tired for a shower and decided to just throw on a hat and stroll into the office. Not a peep from anyone. Heck my boss comes in the office where gym shorts and a t-shirt. So I definitely like that aspect of where I work.

A few nights ago I went with my friend Greg down to L.A. to see Chuck Ragan play at the Knitting Factory. I love going down to L.A. Its a place I would never want to live, but I love being 45 min to an hour away. There is so much to do there. Anyways, I had never been to the Knitting Factory before, one of the few bigger name venues that I haven't, so it was really fun to finally go. Chuck Ragan, who you are currently hearing in the background of this lovely blog, plays folky acoustic type stuff. He also fronts a band called Hot Water Music who absolutely love. I had never seen Chuck live by himself, but I have seen Hot Water Music before back in high school. Before he went on I had an opportunity to meet him and his wife at his merch booth and talk with him for a few minutes. Him and his wife were really nice and seemed genuinely happy that I had taken the time to be a fan of the music and come to the show. Chuck put on an awesome show. He had a few guys from the band that played before him join him on stage for 5 or 6 songs which was fun. All in all it was a fun show.

Newport, the 4th, and a trip to the ER.

2008-07-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today was the 4th of July, one of my favorite holidays. BBQ, warm weather, and explosives. What's not to like? Bill was throwing an enormous party out at his place on the peninsula in Newport Beach. Unfortunately I didn't decide to go until this morning, so by the time I made it out there at about 11:30, it was already pure craziness. I literally think that half of Riverside decided to show up in Newport for the occasion. Traffic was insane and I had to park around 5 to 7 miles away from Bill's place. Luckily, I had my longboard (its a long skateboard, not a surfboard fyi) with me. 45 minutes, a 1 dollar ferry ride, and a few "almost" blisters later I arrived, covered in sweat. Bill was nice enough to let me shower up at his place.

The day was a blast, filled with music, mingling, ping pong, and carne asada grilled on the BBQ. We also took a dip in the ocean, which was the coldest thing ever. Its so nice to be home and have the opportunity to go the beach. That is definitely one thing I missed in Utah.

I think the highlight of the day may have been when Bill's neighbor Joey cut his foot wide open on the spokes of a bike when he tripped on it, spilling blood everywhere. Guess who got to drive him to Hoag Hospital? You guessed it, the only sober guy in the place. I being the generous person that I am, took Bill's car and drove him and a friend to Hoag to the ER. He ended up getting 10 stitches and got back into time to "party" more. Some people never cease to amaze me in their utter stupidity and negligence of their own safety.

Once it started to get dark we got hungry again and decided to take a bike ride down the boardwalk and got pizza at Rubino's. It was a bit pricey but good nonetheless. Bill lives on the top floor condo and has a big balcony which was prime area for watching a few different firework shows. While watching the different shows Newport had to offer our conversation turned the point of the entire day. An excuse for a BBQ? An excuse for a party? An excuse to drink? While plenty of this goes on the 4th, its a chance for everyone to celebrate the fact that we live in such a great country. We all felt a bit cheesy talking about it, it was nice to actually take a few minutes and reflect upon why we have the holiday in the first place. The reason I love the 4th is because no matter how much you dislike, or like, the current administration, everyone can come together and talk about what a great country we live in. I think that has become kind of faux pas to talk about our country in a positive way. Everyone likes to complain about whats wrong with it and the current administration. Its nice to have a day like the 4th where we can come together as country regardless of our race, religion, political affiliation or whatever and just say,"Its great to live here and be American," and somewhat give thanks for the sacrifices made by others in the past and present. Im done.

By the way, did I mention the Dodgers also rallied to come back and beat the rival Giants today? Truly a good day.

Office Space

2008-06-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

After two months of being home and working at Crapparoni Grill (thats such a rad nickname, how did I not come up with it sooner?) I have finally found a job!!! Im seriously so excited! Every sentence won't end with an exclamation mark I promise. I've been working with a company called Accountemps that does placement for accountants permanent and temporary. The 3 people that I have been working with there really liked me and what I had to offer. They were very optimistic that they could find something good for me.

Last Thursday I worked the day shift at the Mac Shack and it was one of the top 3 worst shifts ever. I wanted to quit on the spot right there. I had a voicemail from Accountemps waiting for me when I got off. They said they had something for me that started the next day. I called them back and said that yes I was interested. My saving grace! Finally after the worst day, I would be able to quit. They said they would call back to confirm in about an hour or two. I was so excited. I called some friends and family informing them of the news and how excited I was. One of the really cool parts was the company itself which is called Anderson Bats and they make softball bats. Softball/baseball, very similar. So that excited me too. Also, its like two miles down the street from my house. Does it get any better?

The call came an hour or two later informing me that I had in fact, not gotten the job. I am Jack's broken heart. Are you kidding me? I felt like I was destined for it. I was so ready to start in a real job. Not to mention the fact that I didn't want go back to the Crapparoni Grill ( I love it!) on Friday night. I was seriously so depressed the rest of the day. But, I put my apron back on and went back to serving tables for the time being.

Flash forward to this morning. I get a call from Accountemps again, informing me that Anderson Bats wanted to interview me. YESSSSS!!! I think may have jumped in the air like the people on the Toyota commercials of my childhood. You know what I'm talking about. "I love what you do for me, TOYOTA!!!" And they freeze frame on the people jumping in the air with their legs kicked out. Haha, anyways, so I got dressed and headed down for the interview. I really think that I should have more confidence in myself because I swear I nail every interview I have. First impressions are my forte' apparently. Needless to say, I will be starting tomorrow doing various A/P and A/R work but eventually will be charge of all the A/R. I forgot to mention one of the sweetest parts about the job. Its for the most part a casual dress. So, I don't have to wear a tie and can wear jeans and even t-shirts. How sweet is that? Im excited to finally be in something where I can show my skills. Wish me luck!

Shoot 'em up

2008-06-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

This last saturday I went paintballing with Jeff and his brother-in-law Michael. We drove all the way out to Camp Pendelton which I am pretty sure is in San Diego County. A big group of people from Jeff's office put the trip together so we had a whole course to ourselves. Paintballing is seriously so much fun. The ball hurts enough to make it fun when you shoot other people, but not enough to not want to play myself. I have like 10 welts all over my body. I was going to take a picture of one of them because it is way narly but decided that nobody wants to see that. By the way, i'm not trying to look hardcore in this picture, I think the sun was in my eyes.

Flight of the Pimp Face

2008-06-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

Also known as complete douche bag face. For some reason whenever a picture is a taken of me my face turns into this horrible presentation that you are now witnessing. Its like my face has this natural inclination to make me like the biggest idiot ever. It reminds me a face some football player in high school would make. I really wish it didn't this but its almost part of my DNA I think. Im pretty sure it started out as a funny thing but it has since become a ridiculous display of photographic douchery (is that a word?). I digress. Anyways, the other guy in the picture, who also looks quite bad, is Bret from Flight of the Conchords. For those of you who don't know who Flight of the Conchords are (aka FOTC, for you Hud), they are two guys from New Zealand who have a TV show on HBO about their band and life in New York City. Its seriously one of the funniest shows on TV; up there with The Office. Last night (Tuesday night) I went with my friend Hud down to Hollywood to an after party for a band called Chromeo. They had played on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier. Hud is a producer for the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba and often goes to cool little shindigs like this to meet people, bands, and the like to come and guest star on the show. So we rolled down to the Roosevelt (i think) Hotel and Bret was there. He was a way cool guy and cool with me taking a picture with him. I was reminded of the part in Iron Man where the soldier asks Robert Downey Jr.'s character "Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" To which RDJ responds, "Yes, its very cool,". Classic. Anyways, the after party was way fun. Did I mention we got VIP treatment at the line? Hud is a sweet person to go places with because he always knows someone that can get you in backstage, ahead of the line, free, or any combination of the three.

If any of you are like me, you check your own blog (if you have one) and every other person's blog you know on a daily basis. I aggravates me to no end when people don't let me into their world by blogging. To this I apologize because its been awhile since I have blogged and I have not done it as much lately. I promise to keep it up more from now on. I won't, however, promise pictures with every blog. Its too hard to it often with pictures, but i'll try to do as much pictures as possible.

In other news, my sister is coming to town this weekend for like 10 days I think and I am way excited to see her and my niece Mia. Unfortunately my brother in law Zach won't be coming, which is a bust. I am so excited to see little Mia. She is getting not so little these days and its going to be so much fun to play with her. I'll for sure post some pictures.

Im currently listening to Thrice's Alchemy Index, all 4 parts, on shuffle and am reminded again of its greatness. I know I blab a lot about them, but they are seriously so rad. I highly recommend them to everyone. In fact, Im going to throw a song off the alchemy index on here for you all to listen too. If you want more go buy it on itunes or I guess I can burn it for you if you don't want to fork over the money.

PS I'm making a vow to work on not making the "pimp" face during pictures.

25 and counting...

2008-06-04T00:27:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to me! So today was my 25th birthday and I had a blast. I drove out Alicia Viejo to have lunch with my mom at a hip little place called the Mustard Cafe. Short tangent, how bad is it that I had to google how to spell Alicia Viejo and I grew up here in Orange County? Anyways, the Mustard Cafe was scrumdiddlyumptious. They had some fruit salad that was very tasty. I can't remember what the sandwich I had was called but it was pretty bomb. It was nice to have lunch all by myself with the Momster. Before I moved to Utah we would have little outings such as this every so often and I always enjoyed them. So it was nice to have another one. I know that is total momma's boy but give me a break, I am the baby of the family and the only not married yet. I can't help it.

Tonight I got together with a group of friends for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. SO GOOD! Seriously, those who have not been, make a point to go there. Its so much better than the crappy Italian restaurant that I work at that will remain nameless. I had some kind of Cajun jambalaya pasta that was good. I also finished it off with some banana cream cheese cake. HMMMMM!!! I believe the picture above is me mid-bite of the cheesecake.

The best part of the night was honestly just being with friends. Another side note, can you tell which person out of the three above has lived in Utah for 3 years? How freakin white am I? Anywho, like I was saying, it was so much fun to be out with friends. Above its me with Jeff to my left (haha, Jeff you appreciate that phrase) and Bill on my right.

One thing I have appreciated since being home, is being able to spend time with my California friends. Its nice to know that I don't have to cram in as much time with them as I can like I did when I came home from school.

Here is the whole gang. From left to right its Nicole, Jeff, Me, Bill, Trevor, Amy, and Heather.

Another shot of everybody. After dinner we decided to go see a movie at the Block so we drove over there. Once we got there everyone decided that they would rather have frozen yogurt instead. So in an attempt to take advantage of these low gas prices that we are experiencing right now, we drove to Yogurt Land in Fullerton. Luckily I was riding with Bill and didn't have to drive. Thanks Bill! Haha. Frozen yogurt was rad. For some reason I have been craving it like mad since I have been home. All in all it was an awesome night. It was great to get some friends over in a celebration of me. haha. Really though, is there a better day out of the year than your birthday? I would venture to say no. I love it. I told everyone I talked to today that it was my birthday. Tomorrow is a sad day because there is 365 more days until my birthday. Thanks again for everyone that came tonight!

Drowning in a Digital Sea

2008-06-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

I seem to be having a hard time blogging since moving home. I don't know if that is because my life was so exciting in Utah and there was a ton to write about, or if it was because there was nothing to do there and I had a lot of time to write about nothing. Im not sure which one it is but whatever the reason I have not been blogging near as much. So sorry to those of you who actually read this.

Since moving home I have obviously been looking for a job. The search continues. I think I have a few leads that will help me find something soon. For now I'm stuck at Macaroni Grill. It is truly embarrassing telling people I work there even though I have a degree. That plus hate working there. Every night I work there I get more and more motivated to find a real job. I hate it there.

I have now finished season 3 of Lost. It is so amazingly awesome. I highly recommend all of yo u to start watching this show from the beginning if you haven't already. Its so addicting. Im glad that there are only 2 more seasons after season 4 because I don't think I could the anticipation anymore seasons.

This last week was pretty awesome for me. Back in February I bought tickets for Thrice in California because I knew I would be here. They played two shows in Anaheim at the House of Blues and 2 shows in Hollywood at The Avalon, formally known as The Palace. Since tickets were only $15, I bought a ticket to both Anaheim shows and one of the Hollywood shows. Can you say obsessed? I know, but it was worth it. The first two shows were really different from each other and the last one was similar to the first show but still a little different. Over the three nights I got to see a number of different songs. If an opportunity comes up again to do Thrice 3 nights in a row I probably won't do it, but I think I would 2 nights in a row. Anyways, I wish I had pictures but House of Blues didn't allow cameras and I forgot my camera when we went to Hollywood.

I have now been in California for month. I'm settling in fine and am finally getting used to being here. I miss Utah and all my friends out there, but I'm glad I came home. It was definitely the right decision.

Lastly, it is my birthday on Tuesday! 25, wow! I can't believe I'll be 25. Its crazy. Its the last good birthday, kind of depressing. I've always viewed 25 as the ideal age. Old enough to get respect as an adult, but still young. Everything from here on out is downhill. Who gets excited about turning 30 or 40? Im sure the "experienced" people reading this blog will scoff at my complaints of getting old. But I'm sure you all thought the same when you were 25.

Honest to Blog

2008-05-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

My mother is now a bona fide blogger. She just recently made her blog viewable to anyone so you all should check it out. Its under my links sections as "Still Crazy After All These Years". She has a great knack for blogging already and I am sure you all get a kick out of her thoughts, as she has of yours (Well at least those of you linked to my blog, she reads all of them, haha).

I am currently highly stressed about finding job in accounting. For those of you who know anyone that can help me out let me know.

Also, I just downloaded all of season 2 and 3 of Lost. I am catching up and boy am I loving it.

New Bloggery

2008-05-15T00:17:00.000-07:00

In an effort to move forward with my life after Utah, I decided to change the background and layout of my blog. I know, what an important thing in my transition. This generation is doomed because people now spend time transitioning by changing their blogs and myspace accounts instead of spending time changing their lives. Haha. I laugh but I am so a victim of it too. Anyways, so I opted to not put music on this time. If there is an overwhelming reaction to it not being on there, which I doubt there will be, then I will put it back on.

There may be a few more tweaks here and there in the next few days but for the most part this is it. I hope it behooveth everyone.

Updates

2008-05-13T01:22:00.001-07:00

This post is titled updates not because I wanted to up date you all so much on whats been going on in my life, but because I am so tired of updating everyone on whats going on in my life. Well that sounds sort of bad. For the most part everyone that reads this is pretty in the know on my life and refrains from asking me the questions that I absolutely hate. Thus ensuring me that creating this blog was a good thing because I have to answer said questions less often than I did before the blog. What kind of questions am I talking about, you ask? The mindless banter that really doesn't matter. Here is a quick run down of the annoying conversations that I am talking about. I will title the person asking the annoying questions as Joe.

Joe: So you just graduated huh?
Scott: Yeah, I did. Its seriously so nice to be done with school.
Joe: Do you have a job lined up?
Scott: No. Actually I just transferred to the Macaroni Grill down here while I take the CPA exam, but I am looking for a job too.
Joe: Did you meet with any recruiters at your school?
Scott: No. No recruiters came to my school because our accounting program was small, blah blah blah.
Joe: Oh, that sucks.
Scott: Yeah.

Thats pretty much brunt of it. I can not even count how many times I have had that same stupid conversation since I have moved home. I get it, people are just trying to be nice and cordial. Im sure the fault lies with me, but I'm sorry it just annoys the crap out of me. Its the cross I bare apparently. Also included in these annoying little update conversations are topics/questions such as: "Are you dating anyone?", "How was work?", "How is the Macaroni Grill?", and other questions like that. Undoubtedly one of you reading this has at some point asked me one of the questions, some probably pretty recently. Please don't take offense. I understand people are just trying to be polite and have a conversation. It is just highly aggravating to hear them and discuss them over and over again. When anyone reading this feels the need to ask any of these questions just refer to the answers below.

Are you dating anyone? - No. Trust me, I'll let you know when I am.

How was work? - Work sucked. It always sucks. Who likes work? (Granted I have asked this once or twice but from here on out I vow to not ask it)

How is the Macaroni Grill? I hate it. I hate serving tables. I am currently looking for a full-time job in accounting. Do you know anyone that can help me?

Once again, this is just me venting. Please no one take offense because its the conversation that is annoying to me, not the person who i am having the conversation with. We've all had conversations like this I am sure of it. The end.

Angel Game

2008-05-07T00:31:00.001-07:00

It's baseball season! And guess what? I'm back in California. How very exciting for me! So this past week I went to my first Angel game of the year. Hopefully there will be many more to come as well as many Dodger games. While I do love the Angels and Angel Stadium, mostly due to its closeness, nothing beats Dodger Stadium. The bummer about Dodger Stadium is driving the hour, if there is no traffic, to get to it. Not to mention the ghetto that it lies in. Im sure many memories will be made at both Dodger and Angel Stadium. Amy and Heather accompanied me to the game and we all had a blast. Nothing beats $16 tickets. The seats are really good too for what you pay. Anyways, it was good times had by all. The end.

This song is by Dropkick Murphy's and its called "I'm Shipping Up to Boston". Enjoy.

Last Day in Utah

2008-05-03T14:43:00.001-07:00

My last day in Utah was definitely a fun one. It started off a little scatter-brained but ended up being a good send off. I had been wanting to a have a BBQ but had really failed to plan much and that includes an exact time and an invite list. So I knew I wanted to have a BBQ, but I wasn't sure when to have it and who I wanted there. After much procrastination I, with the help of my friend Mitch, came up with a loose invite list and food assignments. I thought I had let everyone know when it was but apparently I forgot to tell my Dad because he thought it was at 5 or 6. He ended up being around 2 and 1/2 hours late. It also ended up being a little smaller than I had planned because I also neglected to call really anyone other than my roommates and good friends. In the end it was a good thing because it was nice to not have to cater to a bunch of people and all my really good friends were. Old Man Bones was able to take a lunch break from work and make an appearance. Cory Mon and Ellsworth also showed up after their band practice which was cool. Most of the fam that was there for my graduation came, with the exception of Margie and Nana who were taking a rest from the busy day earlier. Other notable guests were Bill (who flew in the night before to drive home with me), Dan the Man (who chatted baseball with Bill and I the entire time), and Erin (who brought her charm and dashing good looks to the party). Donnie aka Tammy, my roommate, was also there to add some much needed flavor, although there was no mustache this time. Donnie is now holding down the fort at the Huntington Manor with Stone Bone in my stead. Good luck to you Good Sir.

Here is Lord Huntington aka Justin hard at work on the grill. The burgers were delicious. Thanks again Justin.

Donnie and Erin.

I don't know why but I love this picture. I think because it is classic Jeff. Miss ya man.

Petey rockin' it in Utah style.

That night Cory had a show at Velour that he promoted as a going a party for me which was pretty sweet. I invited a bunch of people but pretty much only the people that I expected to come were the ones that showed up. That was nice so I didn't have to spread myself to thin. I was able to hang out with all my best friends on my last night. I think about probably 10 or 15 of my best friends were there. Cory asked me if I wanted to sing a song with him before hand and I thought it would be fun so I did. I actually was really really nervous but it was seriously some of the best fun I have ever had. Thanks again Cory for making it a special night for me. I thought this picture above was a good one with Cory and I.

I also really liked this one because I look about as happy as I felt. Haha. My 15 minutes of semi-fame. When Cory is one day rich and famous from his successful music career I can brag that I once sang a duet with him on stage. It should also be noted that the song we sang was named after me...Snubbs. Good times.

Enjoy Come All You Weary by Thrice.

Graduation!

2008-04-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I finally graduated college. WOOHOO! It was a very exciting, fun filled weekend. There were a lot of pictures and somewhat a lot to say so I decided to break it up into two posts. This first one will cover graduation day and in a couple days I will post another that will cover my last day in Utah.

Wow, what a day! It was a little hectic, as I am sure it is for everyone that goes through it. After going to bed at 3:30 AM the night before, I have to wake up at 6:00 AM to be ready in time to get to the school at 7 to check in. Needless to say, I was completely tired most of the day, but the excitement kept me chipper. Pretty much my entire immediate family came. My dad and stepmom, mom and stepdad, grandma and grandpa, great-grandmother, and great-aunt all came to Utah to celebrate and watch me graduate. I thought it was pretty cool and really appreciated everyone making the trip out. Here is a picture of my dad and I at around 7:15 AM before the ceremony.

Here is me, my mom, and my dad after graduation. How excited am I at this moment? haha.

Me with (left to right): Margie, Nana, Grandma, Grandpa.

Me and Nana. She is 96 and she made it all the way from California. What a trooper! I love her and I am so glad she was healthy enough to make it.

The night of graduation we all went out to eat at Macaroni Grill. I worked there so it was easy to get the reservation. Laura is a good friend of mine and she ended up being our server which was fun. I think this is her token Japanese pose. She is only missing her camera and hawaiian shirt.

Here I am, happy as a clam at dinner.

All in all it was a great day, but very tiring. I am glad I ended up walking rather that just coming home after finals. I'll be back in a few days with more pictures and stuff. Enjoy for now.

Enjoy this song by my good friend Cory Mon called Touch of Grace.

Don't mess with me...I'm chillin'...

2008-04-25T00:53:00.001-07:00

One of the very quotable lines from the worst movie I have ever seen. Another great FF (fun fact) about this movie is that my good friend and roommate Jeff Stone is the star. Thats right Ladies and Gents. Jeff Stone did star in a D grade movie in the late nineties with the guy from Michael Clayton (a recent oscar nominee, the movie not the actor) and the girl that plays the chiefs wife in Dances with Wolves. Two bona-fide actors in one horrible movie. I still don't know what the plot line was. The significance of this event is that I have been bugging Old Man Bones to let me watch it pretty much since I moved in. He denied me over and over again, too embarrassed to let me watch it. I even threatened to buy the movie online and watch but it really didn't budge him. After giving up, finally, to my dismay, he offered to show it to me as a going away present. In hindsight I don't know if it was actually a present or punishment. Haha. Truly the worst movie I have ever seen. Which is actually weird to think about. I would rather be in a movie that takes the cake for the worst movie ever than a movie that people watch and go, "Eh, it was ok,". Because it was so bad, we all got some laughs out of it. I have to publicly thank Stone Bone for letting me watch it. I am now in a rare, distinguished group of people who have seen "In Jest" and to that I am thankful. A friend couldn't ask for a better going away present. So thank you again Jeff. To end this post I would like to quote another great line from this movie. "You think your ass is ice cream and everybody wants a lick. You're wrong." Pure genius.

A Day in Scotland

2008-04-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Donnie, Erin, and I took an adventure and went to the beaches of Scotland. At least that is what the pictures looked like. It was actually Utah Lake but we decided that it looked a lot more like Scotland, largely due to the weather. The it looks like its really cold, but it was actually fairly warm, but pretty windy.

Some of these pictures are pretty random but I thought they looked cool.

Here is Erin and Donnie. You can see Snubbs in the background on the left.

Yours Truly.

There was this random house like structure with a couple other cinder block buildings that were destroyed. It was really weird.

Erin and I. Word.

Ok, this is a video that we took on the way of this awesome kid riding a unicycle. We thought that is was by far the best thing ever. It really made the day. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.

This song is by Portishead and its called Mysterons. They fantabulous and I like them. Enjoy.

Here we go.....

2008-04-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while, about a week, since I have last wrote. In that time the new Thrice album, The Alchemy Index Volumes 3 & 4, has leaked on the internet for my downloading pleasure. I'm actually pretty impressed that it took so long to leak seeing that it comes out in stores this Tuesday the 15th. Needless to say this album is amazing to me. I have no doubt explained this project to most of you reading this blog but for the rest you it is basically a 4-disc undertaking with each disc having 6 songs that are themed lyrically and sonically to the four classic elements (fire, water, air, earth). To loosely describe them, fire is heavier, water is electronic sounding with a lot of keyboards and drum machines but very soothing and chill, earth is rootsy, gospel and blues sounding with lots of acoustic guitar, banjo, percussion, and piano, and air is very hard to explain but to make it easy I will describe it as soft rock.

So the earth and air portions come out this Tuesday and is what I have been listening to all week. Since Fire and Water came out last October I have fully digested them and can now somewhat appreciate the entire album with all 4 discs as a whole. I would really suggest this album (Vol. 3 and 4) to anyone. They are so good and accessible that I think anyone from my mom and dad to friends would like them. The cd comes out this Tuesday once again so I exhort you all to check it out.

I am starting to actually believe summer is close due to a couple of reasons. Reason #1: I went longboarding down Provo Canyon with my good friend/roommate/gracious and understanding landlord Justin today for the first time in 2008. WOOHOO! So much fun! It was like 70 degrees or so today. So pretty and nice outside. I'll tell you what, there is nothing like driving with your windows down. Those of you in California or Puerto Rico may not appreciate this as much, but for me here in Utah the last 5 months have been hell for me with this winter being the coldest winter in Utah in years (thats actually a fact not just me being a pansy). Reason #2: I am starting to prepare to move back to California. Not really a sign of the times but you all get my excitement I'm sure. I look forward to many bon fires and days at the beach this summer.

I was informed this week that I probably have a lot more readers than I thought I did. My sister Katie informed me that my Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Margie, and my lovely Nana might be reading, not to mention countless other that stumble upon my page and are enthralled with the shenanigans and ridiculousness that I call my life. To these and others I say Hello and Welcome. Just to worn a few of you I partly created this blog to act as a journal and a way to get some things off of my chest. I try to keep it PG for the most part and create a way for everyone to enjoy a window into my life and more importantly my thoughts. That being said, every once in a while I may tend to get a tad bit racy and edgy. It is not my objective to offend anyone, although I am sure I do it on a daily basis. Its more of a way to get my thoughts out and sometimes, yes, those thoughts are negative and somewhat offensive. So.....sorry....but it will happen here and there. Please don't judge me. Haha.

The song playing right now is off of the new Thrice cd and is called "A Song For Milly Michaelson". Its off of the air disc. Enjoy it as much as I do.

I am ManBoy!

2008-04-06T21:47:00.001-07:00

This delicious morsel that you are viewing was dinner. Yes you are seeing correctly. Mac 'n Cheese topped with filet mignon. I am ManBoy! I had the idea and presented it to Old Man Bones. He replied, "Please bless...". And so it was....the results are in and it was PHENOMENAL!!! With my recent Body for Life expedition, I haven't tasted of the Mac and Cheese for a while. So since i just finished the 3 month program, i had somewhat of a week off. It was not a good week, haha. I went to the gym once and ate like crap all week. So that being behind me, I will start this week and the next three month period with a bang. This beautiful creation was that bang. Now its back to healthiness and frequenting the gym. For those of you who enjoy Mac and Cheese I implore you to take this venture and meet me in heaven.

Driving school 101

2008-04-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

I seriously want to know where some people learn to drive. How can some people be so bad at one thing? The amount of people here in Orem/Provo that can't drive is seriously beyond my belief. Driving is not that difficult. Usually it involves pressing on one of two pedals and steering a wheel that is in front of you. Most importantly though, it involves paying a small amount of attention to what is going on around you. #1 on that list is freakin speed limit. 35 mph does not mean 25 mph or 30 mph. I would even venture to say that it doesn't mean 35 mph. A 35 mph sign is really a minimum speed limit, not the maximum. Also, has anyone here ever heard of a turning signal? When you change lanes or turn please use them. If you are too lazy to move you fingers 3 inches, then you suck at life. Honestly. Its a common courtesy. Which leads me to my next point. For those who can't chew gum and walk at the same time, please don't talk on your cell phone and drive at the same time. I'm sorry Dad, this includes you. I think your wife would agree. Haha. But really, some people should just not be allowed to drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time. Its seems as though every time I am behind some a-hole driving 10 miles below the speed limit, i pass them and of course they are on a phone. Its usually some dumb soccer mom in her Tahoe or minivan. I want to throw things at their car.

Last but not least, here is a list of drivers that piss me off. Read carefully, you could be one of them...

The Grandpa - This guy can barely see over the steering wheel and is usually driving a car made in the 1970's that is made by either Buick, Cadillac, or Lincoln. Not only should this guy not be driving, he probably shouldn't be out on his own. If you need a walker to get from your house to your car, you are too old to drive. Also included in this category is the old grandma.
Chosen sticker: Mitt Romeny 2008 campaign sticker. Or maybe even worse, a W '04 sticker.

The Teenager - This idiot is usually seen around town in a Honda Civic that is a few years old. His car has a loud system that sounds like crap and usually some lame rims that don't look good. He is frequently witnessed not using his blinkers and cutting people off. I want to punch him in the face.
Chosen sticker: Some dumb oversized sticker of a company that you have never heard of like
ANON that takes up the entire rear window.

The Soccer Mom - As previously stated, she is usually on a phone with a car full of kids. Since its Utah, she is probably grossly over weight and driving a large SUV or minivan.
Chosen sticker: Either the stick figure family of them and their kids, a stupid mormon sticker
like RULDS2 or RWH, or both.

The Hispanic - Now I were in California I would rant about how slow asians drive but there aren't really many up here in Utah. They are replaced by the Hispanic. Usually driving a dilapidated economy car from the 80's or an Astro van. They love the Astro van for some reason. This category drives extremely slow, probably more than any other. I don't know if its because there aren't many cars in Mexico or if the speed limits are lower there or what. But its terrible and I hate being behind them.
Chosen sticker: Whatever crappy,cracked, half-falling sticker was on the car when they
bought it. If they do add there own sticker its usually something with the Mexican flag or
with the virgin Mary.

These are only a few of the bad drivers. Also keep an eye out for The Bro who drives a raised truck and apparently owns the road and The Woman who thinks putting on makeup is more important that staying in the boundaries of that thing we all like to a lane. Thank you for listening to this rant.

The Legend of the Playoff Beard

2008-04-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

I really don't like April fools. I never have. I can never come up with anything believable. Furthermore, I'm usually duped because I forget its April 1st. I remember being in like 1st or 2nd grade and having my Dad tell my sister that he sold the Cricket, our pony, earlier in the day. I don't remember the whole thing exactly but I think I was in on it. I honestly don't even remember if she bought it or not. But I look back on that now and think, "How cruel?" Sorry Dad, I know you are reading this. But what if my sister did buy it? I just don't get much pleasure out of tricking people like that. I'm going to give you guys a little "i.e.", a "for example" if you will. Despite my dislike for April fools I decided I would try to trick my roommate Jeff earlier. In a nutshell I told him our other roommate Donnie was getting kicked out. It actually worked and Jeff believed it. After I had him hook, line, and sinker, I got bored and genuinely felt bad that I had tricked him. So I cut the line and told him "April fools". I can honestly say I got pretty much zero satisfaction out of it. I think its funny that even though much of our day to day life is full of little white lies or mild exaggerations, someone felt the need to start April fools, an entire day designed to lie to people. Thats like setting up a national holiday called "Con man's Day" to celebrate the great con men of history. I digress...

Speaking of criminals, a week back my friend Mitch was begging me to grow the "playoff beard" after posting the pictures from the BBQ and seeing my gross facial hair. The story of the "playoff beard" dates back to the summer of 2006 when I sold satellite dishes door-to-door with Mitch in Oregon. Yes, i know, it was the worst job of my life. More important was the playoff beard I grew while seeing some success. Mitch and I had been going to the ghetto part of Portland to sell. That fateful day Mitch had been making fun of me for a few reasons. I had been wearing a XXL shirt because for some reason the office only had one XL. So I'm wearing this absolutely huge, baggy shirt and all my ankle socks were dirty so I wore my other socks that went halfway up to calves. On top of that I had a growth of about a week and a half due to laziness. As you can see in the pictures provided here and in my BBQ post, my facial hair is gross and makes me look hispanic. So the hair, the shirt and the socks made me look like I was from East LA and Mitch would make little comments such as, "Hey, Hector, pass me the wire cutters!" But in a very "Cheech-esque" voice. I must admit it was funny. So this particular day I ended up selling 3 accounts on one street in about an hour. That was easily the best I had ever done, so I joked with Mitch that I was going to grow my "playoff beard". "What?!" was his response. I went on to explain like how in baseball playoffs the players are very superstitious and often do things like wearing the same underwear multiple days in a row and not shaving in order to not curse the winning streak. So in the playoffs you see a lot of guys with beards because they won't shave until they lose or have a bad game or stop doing well whatever they are doing well. When I explained this to Mitch he of course laughed his head off. He then agreed that must grow my playoff beard in order to keep on with the success with the day. So i decided to not shave to keep the selling streak going.

After my post last week featuring the dirty 'stache, Mitch exhorted me to bring back the playoff beard. I decided that it was a good time and that I must grow it out in order to succeed this semester and graduate. As you can see from these pictures its absolutely disgusting. I should never attempt this. You know how sometimes you look at families and you think, "Some people should just not be allowed to pro-create."? Well i think when I was walking around the past week, people were thinking, "Some people should just not be allowed to grow facial hair." I really think that I should have driven around a old Chevy pickup and gone to some Monster Truck rally's. I also pose another question, why is crappy, thin facial hair synonymous with trashy people? Even white trash guy on The Simpsons has a thin mustache like mine.

You might be asking yourself, "What happened that fateful summer? Did you grow a beard? Were you successful the rest of the summer?" Well I don't remember exactly what happened first. Either I got sick of the beard being gross, disgusting, and itchy, and the sales subsequently stopped. Or the sales stopped and it gave me an excuse to shave the thing off. Regardless, I ended up coming home early because door-to-door summer sales sucks. And I also ended up shaving this week because I realized that gross facial hair is only funny for a few hours and then its just disgusting. Also, superstitions are for ignorant people. The end.

Stay tuned next for my next topic of discussion, "Where do people learn to drive?" Its going to be an exciting discourse.

Also please enjoy this song by Valient Thorr. They have awesome beards that I wish I could grow.

Summertime..the living's easy!

2008-03-23T23:28:00.001-07:00

The first burgers of 2008! The weather is finally warming up and so on this Easter Sunday we decided to have a lovely barbeque. It was such a nice day. It was me, my two roommates (Jeff and Donnie), and our friend Shasta. Donnie and I are both from California, Jeff from Vermont, and Shasta from Vernal so we were all without family. I must also thank mom for the burgers, they were delicious. Jeff also bought some brats and of course some YooHoo. Nothing says summertime and BBQ like a nice frosty YooHoo. For those of you who haven't delved back into your childhood with a good swig of YooHoo, I highly recommend it.

Here is Jeff and Shasta handling the grill. There is something highly emasculating about not knowing anything about working a grill. Furthermore, the fact that I know more about fashion than BBQing and cars combined just makes me feel like the biggest woman ever. Needless to say, Jeff did a much better job at the grill than I would have.

The YooHoo, oh yes, the YooHoo. Its so good when it hits your lips!

You might be asking yourself who this 40 year old man is or why is there a cop/child molester at our BBQ. Nay, that is just Donnie with horrifically glorious mustache. He's playing the GEETAR as usual. Enlightening our ears with lovely music.

Shasta and me. Close up I think you may see my poor mans excuse for a mustache. I hate my facial hair. I am convinced its just growing to make me look bad. I wish it would either grow in full (like Donnie) or not grow in at all (like Jeff).

Me eatin a brat. I freakin love summertime and BBQs. Its sad that I say summertime and yet there is snow on the mountains still in this picture. Delusional much? Yet another example of me excited for what this summer holds but relishing my time left here in Utah.

On a side note, I finished The Kite Runner tonight. Amazing book I must say. It is pretty heavy as far as content, but its one of those books that is good to read to remind you of the blessings we sometimes take for granted. The book itself is fictional, but the subject matter is based on real things that happen all the time. In an effort to not give anything away to those who might read it, I won't go on. Just know it is a great book and I highly recommend it.

I hope you all enjoy Summertime by Sublime too. I thought it was fitting.

PS

2008-03-21T01:22:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the crappy nature of my last blog. Unfortunately blogspot doesn't let you see how your post will look before you actually post. Or if they do I don't know how to do it and someone needs to show me. Anyways, it looks way crappy and I'm sorry. I suck at life. Please bless that my next blog will look better and that it will actually be interesting enough for you all to read.

Snubbs

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. ~Groucho Marx

2008-03-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

As of late I have had a resurgence of reading. I have really forgotten how much I enjoy reading. I remember as a kid I used to love to read, probably more than anyone in my family except my mom. Even when I was on my mission I read a ton of doctrinal books and loved them. Since I have been home from my mission I haven't really read that many books. I think part of the reason is that I almost feel guilty reading anything that isn't a textbook. That especially rings true this semester which is somewhat ironic. Anyways, regardless of the lack of reading for the past three years, with a few exceptions, I have been reading a ton of books lately. Luckily for me they have all been very good books thus far. I decided to write about a few of them...

I'm sure you will all remember my previous blog about this movie. For some reason, the two people have my recommendation and watched the movie didn't like it. I honestly don't get it. Everyone else that I have talked to loves it so I know its not just me. I guess I would just have to say in one case they didn't understand it (sorry Katie) and the other just flat out didn't like/get it (sorry Brady). Anyways, thats neither here nor there. After the movie changed my life I decided to dig deeper in the story of the main character and read the book to which the movie was based upon. I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the book for one reason and one reason only. I was basically expecting it to read like the movie but it didn't do that at all. It was more of just a documentary on the same time line of the movie. That being said, I still loved the book and thought it was very interesting to see a few of the things they changed for the movie. If you really liked the movie, I would definitely read the book. If you hated the movie or thought it was so so, I would definitely not read it.

The Fifth Mountain, what a great book. This one was referred to me by my good friend Cory Mon. He actually lent me his copy which was ever so nice of him. It follows a fictional story of Elijah the prophet when he fled Jerusalem. Its a very easy and quick read but very powerful. Ultimately, it was about our relationship with God and how it affects our daily life. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

The Alchemist is by the same author as The Fifth Mountain and is more well known. This book has been recommended to me several times by different people and I finally got around to reading it. It reads just as quick as The Fifth Mountain but its less pages. This one is about following our "Personal Legend". Its a very spiritual book, like all the authors work, but its not overbearing. I guess I would just say that its about following your dreams and how God fits into that equation. When we have righteous desires the Lord helps us attain that which we desire. Really good book that I would once again recommend.

Lastly, The Kite Runner. This book also has a movie that was just made about it, but I have yet to see it. I have also yet to finish the book but am well into it. From what I have read thus far I really like but it is very depressing and heavy. We'll see what happens with the rest of the book.

PS This new song is by Magnet and I love it. Please enjoy it.

"None Shall Pass"

2008-03-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

This me while I type this post, enjoying a nice L0-Carb Monster and the new Aesop Rock album. My headphones are huge but I love them.

I received a lot less comments on my last post then I thought I would. That either means that not everyone commented or a lot less people read this than I thought. Anyways, so I decided to do something new. Every time I make a new post will post a new song for everyone to listen to so it doesn't get boring. I'll still leave the older songs on as well for everyone to enjoy.

I feel like my life hasn't been really exciting lately and therefore haven't written much lately. Last week was Spring Break and I had the opportunity to take an awesome vacation down to Cabo. Unfortunately, I don't have any money to go down to Cabo or friends that were going so I just picked up a butt load of shifts at work and made some good money. I really despise those who have time and money to leave town anytime they wish. Thus I attempt to get through school and make something of myself so I can do that in the future.

News Update! I'm down to 245 lbs. which means I have lost about 25 pounds. Its crazy to think that I have lost that much in lik 2 1/2 months. Its also crazy to think that I have lost 25 pounds and I still weigh 245. Haha. Holy crap, Body-for-Life saved me from obesity. At 245 I still feel huge but I keep going forward with it all because I can see results. Its kind of how they say, "The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know." Well the more I lose, the more I realize how much I need to lose. I digress.

Since there isn't much going on in my life that hasn't been going on already for like 3 months, I will speak my mind for a minute. I'm not going to pretend that I am not excited about finishing school and moving back to school. Its really all I have that keeps me going. Maybe its the fact that I am completely over Utah, but I really don't think that is true. There is still so much here that enticing to me, especially with the cold finally going away. I'd like to think that the excitement just comes from the idea of the unknown. Not that California is unknown or new, but the experiences there will be. I'll be done with school and hopefully starting a career in accounting. Finally a big kid.

But like I said before, there is so much here that is enticing to me. It would be very easy for me to stay here, especially since I would be able to find a job a lot easier. For the past 8 months I have been living with Jeff and Donnie (my two lovely roommates, pictures will follow), and its been way fun because we are all friends, not to mention having Justin upstairs who is also a close friend. Donnie has only lived here for 3 months but its been fun nonetheless. He and my other good friend Cory Mon are looking to move into a house in the next month or so, with Jeff also being a possibility to move in with them. I was just thinking today how much fun that is going to be for them and I found myself being envious. Im excited to move home, but living the parents for isn't exactly an exciting living situation (sorry Mom). I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to live there this summer, but I still find myself being somewhat jealous of my friends. My only unmarried friend in California, Bill, already has roommates and it is unlikely that I will live with him. So even when I am ready to move out, there is a good chance that I will move in with strangers or those who I hardly know.This Donnie practicing in the next room while I type.

Now this isn't me complaining or being negative. I'd like to think its the other way around. Im glad that I am enjoying my situation here while it lasts. Jeff and Donnie both play guitar, and Cory comes over quite a bit and plays. Justin plays drums and on occasion holds his bands practice at our house. I seriously love being around music, especially the music here. Its a style of music that I wouldn't normally listen to and has definitely expanded my palette. I will miss it here, this house and Utah in general, when I leave. Its great to know that I have a group of really good friends here that I can come back and visit, which I plan to.

I think that is about everything in my head at the moment. I believe my next post is going to be more solidified than this one. I just had an idea about it right now. For now enjoy the new song I added. Its called Needle in the Hay by Elliot Smith. It always reminds me of The Royal Tenenbaums because this is playing while Luke Wilson's character is committing suicide. Turns out Elliot Smith apparently stabbed himself to death. A bit morose I know but I really like this song and that is what I think of every time I hear it.

To all my readers....

2008-03-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

How little or many of you actually read this blog ( I think there is more of you than I think because no one comments) I need your opinion on something. Being the music enthusiast that I am, I naturally think that everyone wants to be introduced to new music that is awesome. Therefore, I posted the music player at the bottom of this blog that will open the eyes and ears of those ignorant to the greatness of Thrice, Radiohead, and the like. However, it has come to my attention lately that this might be annoying to those who actually read my blog. Its kind of funny because I personally hate when people have music on their blogs. This is usually because I am usually already listening to my own music. My friend from work (Fish, you can read his blog by clicking on his link in my friends list) expressed on his blog that he hates when people have music on their blog. Furthermore, my quasi roommate Chain posted a similar blog asking whether people liked music when reading other peoples blogs.

So this is where you all come in. I have decided to copy Chain (sorry, Nicole), and ask you all, do you like the music I have on my blog? Is it annoying? Should I keep it or do away with it? You tell me since you are the readers and are the ones who subject yourselves to the pain and suffering of looking into my messed up life. Haha. Im going to give you all a week or two to leave comments and say whether i should keep it or take it off. I'll do whatever you guys want. Majority wins. So, let the comments roll. If you can't leave comments, drop me an email and let me know your thoughts.

Old Man Bones and Snubbs

2008-03-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

Finally some pictures for you all! Yesterday Jeff Stone, aka Stone Bone, aka Old Man Bones, and I had quite the day. We headed out to the Great Salt Lake around Saltair, which is a concert venue that used to be a carnival. Many many pictures will follow. The main brunt of the pictures are taken around a place called Black Rock. It was cold as balls out there and way windy. After we hung around for bit there we headed caught a bite to eat at Rumbi Grill at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake, which is enjoyable. The main reason to go up to Salt Lake at all was to catch a band called, This Will Destroy You, who is on tour from Texas. They play a kind of music called post-rock, which is essentially instrumental rock music that is really technical and spacy with weird time signitures. The first three bands were of the same genre and I enjoyed them a lot, especially a local band called I Hear Sirens. This Will Destroy You ended up coming late but made it eventually. The show was a lot of fun. I guess if you aren't really into instrumental music, 3 1/2 hours of it might drive you crazy, but Jeff and I enjoyed it. This first picture is at Salt Lake obviously. I did a bit of altering with colors. I think it looks pretty cool.

This is me on top of Black Rock. It was a fun little climb and reminded me of when I was a kid and liked to climb. It was insanely windy on top of that thing.

Me by the water.

I thought this was a really cool shot with the sun and everything.

Doggy tracks...

Old Man Bones in his sweet Marty McFly vest. Is it any wonder he is so popular with the ladies?

More of me by the water.
This is Saltair. You are probably thinking to yourself that I got this picture off the internet and its way old. Nope, I took that yesterday. I hope you are enjoying my awesomeness in iphoto, because I know I am.

This Will Destroy You

Some thoughts

2008-02-24T23:30:00.001-08:00

Everyone keeps asking me for pictures of myself, so once again I'm sorry I don't have any. To my defense I don't really like to hand my camera to someone and say, "Hey, will you take a picture of me?" That and I haven't really done anything lately that has warranted any pictures. So sorry. I'll try to do something soon that I can make an excuse to take pictures for. I've been wanting to go to the Great Salt Lake around Saltair lately, maybe i'll do it and take some photos.

So I gave a talk in church today for the first time in like 2 years. It was way weird. I think it is kind of an anomaly that I love being the center of attention in groups, but formal presentations or talks make me so nervous. I think the worst part about it is that I always feel that I did a horrible job and then everyone comes up to me after and says how great it was. You may ask yourself, "Wouldn't that make you feel better?" Not so. I can never tell if they are being genuine or if they just feel like they have to comment so they are nice and compliment it rather than tell me how boring/horrible it was. I think this because it is exactly what I do to other people. Don't judge me! Everyone does it, and its exactly why I don't like to give talks. Its takes a lot for someone to convince me that it was actually good. Also, what makes it worse is that I am one to constantly seek approval from people and they know this, so they lie. Or maybe they don't and it really was good. I don't know. I just think maybe I would rather have someone honestly tell me it sounded jumbled and boring than lie to me. I digress.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about graduation and how excited I am for it. It feels like yesterday that I was at my first day of school at Fullerton College. One two-year mission, 3 schools, 7 years, and loads of friends and experiences later, the time has come for me to throw on my cap and gown and take a step into the next stage of life. ITS SO WEIRD!!! I can hardly think about it without scratching my head as to how I did it. And accounting? I would have never though I would do accounting in high school. Now two months lie between me and that fateful day. God willing I pass all 7 of my classes I'm back to my roots under the sunshine of SoCal, hopefully to pass the CPA exam and then start a career. I think what weirds me out the most is that I still feel like the kid who can go punk and hardcore shows at the local club and fit right in. Maybe that feeling will never leave. I almost hope it doesn't. I never want to transform into something that I despised as a kid. Something tells me that won't happen. The funny thing is that as I go see bands play now, especially those with a younger fan base, I find myself being the 24 year-old guy that is 6 to 10 years older than most of the kids there that I used to make fun of. "Grow up," I used to say to my buddies in response to seeing those guys. I laugh now thinking about it. Anyways, as I enter into the big kid world of careers and responsibility, I hope to keep the excitement and enthusiasm that I hold right now. Sorry if this blog seems jumbled, but I am just somewhat writing my thoughts down as they come.

Well, it is now 1 AM and I have set a new curfew for myself to be in bed by to keep myself healthy and well-rested these last few months. So I must bid you fond adieu and resolve the evening for its best tidings. One last thing. As I have been typing this I have been listening to Nickel Creek and have enjoyed it thoroughly. Check them out if you are into a laid back blue-grass feel. Good stuff.

SoCal Sports

2008-02-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

So every in my life is pretty much the same as it has been for a while so I decided to write about a few exciting things in Southern California sports.

First off, THE LAKERS ARE BACK!!! I can't tell you how excited I am that the Lakers are finally legitimate contenders after being sub-par for 3 years. I realize for all you people out that are not Laker fans, that this sounds absurd and selfish. But I have to say that when you live in Southern California there are two things you should always be able to count on. The first one is sunshine. The second one is the Lakers kicking ace in the NBA. I know they are the Yankees of the NBA, but come on, who am I supposed to root for, the Clippers? Who likes the Clippers? They are like the red-headed step child of L.A. basketball. Let me rephrase that, the Clippers are like the red-headed step child of the entire NBA. Sorry Clipps fans, but they suck. Anywho, with the addition of Pau Gasol, as well as the emergence Andrew Bynum, the Lakers have set themselves a top the NBA. Oh yeah, did I mention that they pimp slapped the Suns tonight, who also just added Shaq to their roster? So with Shaq joining the Suns, a Pacific division rival, there are sure to be some good match ups in the season thats left, as well as the post season. Can you think of a Western Conference Final that puts Kobe vs Shaq? Amazing is the only word that comes to mind.

OK, on to the topic of night. BASEBALL BABY!! Words cannot describe how excited I am for baseball season. I find myself on ESPN.com and MLB.com every day reading articles on baseball. I would hope everyone reading this knows I am Dodger fan. My father grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and followed them when they came to L.A. So like the father that he was, he raised to be a Dodger fan. Now, growing up in Orange County, 10 minutes from Anaheim stadium, I also developed a love for the Angels. Most Dodger fans would find this to be blasphemy, as would most Angels fans, but my argument is that they play in different leagues. Needless to say that I am very excited about both teams this year. Not only do the Dodgers have a few youngsters coming up (James Loney, Matt Kemp), but they picked up Andruw Jones from the Braves off free agency. Jones had a rough year last year but assuming that he'll return to form the Dodgers finally have a big bat as well as a few others with Loney and Kemp coming into their own. How well the Dodgers will do, with the strength of the NL West, is not agreed upon by analysts, but considering their strong pitching and strong line-up I can see them going deep into the playoffs. The Angels ave a strong line-up as well. They added Tori Hunter in center field and Jon Garland to their rotation. Both are strong pick-ups and I think will be difference makers in the season and the playoffs. Not only am I excited for the 6 freeway series games that put the Dodgers against the Angels, but I am also psyched about the small possibility of an L.A. World Series. Its going to be a good summer for sports. Who needs an NFL team?

Updates...

2008-02-13T18:12:00.000-08:00

In absence of anything important or significant to talk about, I decided to update everyone a little bit on what is generally going on in my life. By the way, the picture is of Thrice and holds no significance to anything being discussed. I just think its a sweet picture and wanted to include some visual stimuli because looking at only words is boring. You'll also notice that I now have some tunes on in the background. I hope everyone likes them. Im sure you can check anyone of them on myspace if you like them. All them are also on itunes save for Radiohead. I kept it light in respect to most of my audience, or congregation as I like to call you, and because I wanted my blog to have a kick back chill feel to it. Moving along!

BODY FOR LIFE! is going swimmingly! I don't have an exact number on how much I have lost so far but its somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds (probably closer 20). Not bad for under a month and a half if I do say so myself. I am trying be a little more hardcore this week so I can see more/better results. The great thing is that I have been lifting weights a lot too, so the actual poundage of fat that I have lost is WAY more 20 lbs. I have already started to see a difference in the way I look and especially in the way my clothes fit. Those of you who last saw me at Christmas should see a huge change by the time graduation comes.

SCHOOL! This semester has definitely been tough thus far. A lot of time is spent reading and doing homework as well as with my online classes. One thing that takes an enormous amount of time is meeting with groups. Two of my classes rely heavily on group work so around two nights a week I have to meet with my groups. This obviously takes away from work time.

WORK! Still at the Mac Shack. The venture working for my friend Dan didn't work out. No time. But on the bright side, he has some work for me that I can do from home whenever I have free time so that can get me some extra cash. I am finding it harder and harder to find time to work other than Friday and Saturday night. Basically as of late, my Fridays and Saturdays consist of me working till 9:30 or 10 and then heading to the gym. What a social life!

It started to warm up the past couple of days, but unfortunately it is cold once again and it will probably snow tonight. Woo Hoo! It will make SoCal in April that much sweeter, right? Right. Thats my rationale for now.

Thats about it for now. For everyone who reads this lowly and humble, thank you once again. Its nice to know that people actually have an interest in what I am saying enough to read it. Don't feel the need to comment every single post I do, but a comment here and there is much appreciated. If nothing else just to know who is reading. If you don't have a google account to sign in with to comment, just shoot me an email sometime to let me know what you think. My email is ScottHayden83@gmail.com. Thanks again everyone for reading and all the great compliments and comments. Stay Classy.

Friends

2008-02-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went up to Salt Lake (or the big city as we like to call it) with Donnie and Cory. We had intentions of filming a movie essentially about ourselves starring ourselves but soon realized that we needed at least one more person to complete the process. So we ended up just hanging out up there. We ate pizza at The Pie, which is the best pizza ever. I think I have a pretty good knowledge of pizza having worked at 5 different pizza places in my life. You know its a lot when you have to stop and actually think about and name out loud all the places to remember them all. Anyways, after that we went to Barnes and Noble and had some hot chocolate and talked amongst friends. I'd like to add that it is very awkward to make eye contact with a girl that you absolutely despise with all your being. We ended up seeing a girl there I had been on a few dates with and subsequently have bad feelings towards. I'm sure I have shared the story with many, if not all of you. Anywho, the rest of the night was spent in Cory's mom's hot tub talking about life. I have a lot of good friends and some I would consider really good friends. I don't know if there is a hierarchy of friends or anything, but Cory has definitely become part of an elite group of people in my life that I would consider best friends. I was actually somewhat giddy on the way to his mom's house because I knew I was going to get to talk with him and it would be a good conversation between the two of us. There are a few other people who I get like that with and they are back in California. So, all in all, it was a fun filled night topped off with some talk of life, spirituality, and yes music.

Into the wild....

2008-02-07T00:35:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot, recently, about life and the experiences we go through and the people we meet along the way. The main cause of these thoughts is a movie called Into the Wild that I watched the other day (the picture to the left is of the main character in one of my favorite shots of the movie). Now, I know that I jibber-jabber a lot about this movie and that movie, but this one is quite different. Very rarely, VERY RARELY, does a movie come along that changes the I think and act. I watch a lot of movies and, at least for me, I can say that it is rare. Into the Wild is one of those movies. I don't want to get into the whole gist of the movie. You can watch it if you are so inclined. Suffice it to say that is incredibly good and I consider it one of the best movies I have ever seen, if not the #1 best I have ever seen. The movie in a nutshell follows a guy, about my age, as he forgets society and goes on a trip to Alaska to live "in the wild". Half the movie is about his journey to Alaska and the other half takes place in Alaska when he is living in the wild. The whole movie he is looking for happiness and figures that when he is in Alaska he will find it being among the trees and animals in God's country away from society. On the way he meets a number of different people and has some great experiences with them where he both learns from people and vice versa. I don't want to ruin the movie or ending but the most moving part of the movie comes at the end. He has been in Alaska longer than 100 days and is growing weak. He comes to an understanding or has an epiphany of some sorts and writes, "Happiness is only real when shared." So he comes to understand that life isn't about the destination, its about the journey. All those experiences he had along the way to Alaska were the happiness he was seeking, not the actual experience of Alaska itself.

Like I said earlier, this movie really hit me. It got me thinking about what kind of life I am leading. When the movie first started I mentioned to my friend Donnie about how what this guy was doing was a lot of guys our age dream. I then commented, "Yeah, I couldn't do it alone though. I would need someone to share the experience with." That was at the beginning of the movie mind you. I was thinking about the blog I posted yesterday and basically whole attitude towards Utah in general. I am actually kind of ashamed of myself. I don't really think I am alone there though. I think a lot of us look at our current situations and just make the worst of it. We complain about whatever is going on that isn't good, when there are so many other good things going on. Instead of enjoying the journey and the experiences I am looking ahead to Alaska (or California in my case). Oh when I get to California it will be so much better. Instead of, Man, Utah has really treated me well. I've made tons of friends here that hopefully I will keep in contact with for the rest of my life. I have had a load of learning and growing experiences that have helped me become a better man. Regardless of the cold, regardless of the snow, regardless of lame serving jobs and school, I am really going to miss a lot about Utah.

What is it about friends that they are always leaving and changing? Tonight, I hung out with two good friends of mine, Steve and Amy. Steve was my very first roommate when I moved out here. I still would have to say to this day that Steve is probably still my favorite roommate ever. I have had a lot of good roommates but he, I think, is my favorite. Anyways, they are moving to Texas this weekend to be closer to her family and to be able to buy a home and what not. The whole night was spent reminiscing about past memories, inside jokes, and plans for the future. I really haven't had that much fun in a while. It makes me sad to think that I could never see them again. Possibly they might come out to California for a Disneyland trip, but maybe not. The point is that it saddened me to think of not seeing them ever again, but it makes me smile to think of the times we did share. When I was driving home I thought a lot about what it will be like when I move back to California. Will that feeling return 10 fold, or will I be relieved, or both? I hope I am able to look back on my experiences here with a smile and without too many regrets. I hope people feel somewhat of loss when I leave like I am feeling right now. Not that I want people to be sad or anything, but I think its always a good thing when people care about you enough that when you are leaving they are sad. I hope the experiences that I have had with my friends here will last with them as I'm sure they'll last with me. Happiness truly is only real when shared.

Will it ever warm up?!

2008-02-06T16:31:00.001-08:00

Ok, I swear my car looks like this every morning. Every morning I have to one, many, or all of the following: brush the first layer of snow of my car, the scrape the ice off the windows, and shovel the driveway (or at least my half). Its absolutely ridiculous. Thats all on top of the bundling up I have to do before I go outside so I don't freeze to death. You may be saying, oh its only a few times a month you have to do that. NOPE! I swear its more than half the time. I swear Utah nature knows I'm on my last nerve with this state and it decided to give me the worst winter ever to piss me off. It has not gotten warmer or less snowy since it started; just constant snow and cold. And furthermore, have you ever tried drive with snow on the ground without sunglasses on? Its absolutely blinding. You may ask yourself, "Why don't you just wear sunglasses, Scott?" It is so cold outside that the inside of my car is cold enough to fog up sunglasses. By the time the temperature is moderate enough to put them on, I'm usually just about to where I am going. So that is my dilemma. I don't think I have ever wanted to be done with something like I want to be done with Utah. Im seriously over it here. I want to be done with school, and back in the warmth. Less than 3 months left. I'll be home before I know it. Until then, I am forced to press on through this icy tundra hell I like to call Provo, Utah 2008. Wish me luck.

Be Kind Rewind

2008-01-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

About a week ago I went to the Sundance Film Festival for the first time ever. Yes I, Scott Hayden, the self-proclaimed Film Critic (I'm probably a self-proclaimed critic about everything actually!), have lived in Utah 3 winters and have yet to attend this fine festival. This being said, I found it prudent to attend this year. My previously mentioned roommate, Justin, found a way to score tickets the first day they were available. Having limited funds I decided to only get tickets for the one I wanted to see the most, Be Kind Rewind. It was directed by Michel Gondry who has directed previous movies Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. Eternal Sunshine ranks up there with my favorite movies and the Science of Sleep is also really good. I highly recommend both movies to those who haven't seen them and are into movies that aren't you normal cinematic experience.

Moving along....the night of the movie we decided to drive up early to Park City (where the movie was playing) and have dinner. We had reservations at a sweet Israeli restaurant that I very much enjoyed. After dinner we headed over to an art gallery where Patti Smith had an invitation only art show. Justin's buddy, June(sp?), received an invitation earlier while watching a showing of a documentary on her. It was definitely an interesting experience. The art/photography was cool, not super impressive, at least by my standards, but cool nonetheless. The interesting part was watching the yuppies converse. Oh wow, I don't know what it is about rich people and wine, but for some reason when the two come together a sudden sense of pretense is apparent. It was honestly making me sick. Don't get me wrong, I am hope I am one day rich and successful and have other rich and successful friends, but these people take it to a level I can't handle. Not to mention the fact that they all think they know everything about everything. Luckily we didn't spend too much time there. Off to the theater!

The movie was spectacular! I seriously loved it. I won't go into what its about because its easy enough to google the trailer. Suffice it to say, it is definitely worth seeing when it comes out in a month.

Whoopsie

2008-01-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

I was going to write about the my experience at Sundance but the post was getting long so I decided to save it for another day. I forgot to change the post title. So enjoy the post and come back soon to hear about my escapades in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival. Thanks!

The "Music Mon" and the Sundance Music Festival

2008-01-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, I have a very good friend, Cory Mon, who plays music locally. His band, Cory Mon & the Starlight Gospel, released a live DVD/CD this past weekend and had a release show to kick it off. The show was at Velour which coincidently was where the DVD was filmed. The DVD has some serious film and audio quality. Its very professionally done. The only other recording Cory has had before this was a CD that seems like it was recorded ages ago that he doesn't even play songs from anymore. Needless to say I was very excited to get this little gem in my hands. Cory's music can be classified as somewhat of an acoustic/folk/rock/funk/blues with deep introspective lyrics. I will admit that Cory's style of music is normally not my style, but I was at first impressed with his live show and later gained an appreciation for his actual music. Also, the tunes that he plays now are, in my opinion, 10 times better than his old songs. I believe he has the talent, charisma, and "image" (unfortunately this is important in the music industry today) to make it in the music business outside of Utah.

Ok, so back to the show. This show was supposed to be a big one for Cory, obviously because he is releasing something that is high quality and spent a lot of money out of pocket on. After creating a sweet poster and putting them up around, he also promoted on myspace and facebook. He also got a sweet article in the Daily Herald, unfortunately titled Music Mon(way lame and cheesy), about his upcoming show and his music in general. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

The line-up of the show was also way sweet. Dave Eaton, a local artist, opened up the show. I like some of his tunes, but his show the last few times was sloppy to me and I didn't enjoy it. After Dave Eaton was Code Hero. My wonderful friend, roommate, landlord, and sometimes late night snuggler, Justin Huntington, plays drums for Code Hero. They are a way sweet band who plays what Donnie and I have dubbed Space Alt-Country. Its like alternative and country mixed with keyboards and cool computery sounds. They played a new song called, I believe, "I See Blue" which was absolutely amazing. The song on its own was cool but to make it even more sweet, Justin plays the drum tracks with a Nintendo Wii controller. Apparently it runs on bluetooth and they rig something up with the laptop. So he just stands up in front and bangs on air with the Wii controller to make the drum beats. Very cool in my opinion. After Code Hero was Matt Jennings. Matt Jennings is a touring artist from Minnesota who actually looks a lot like my brother-in-law Zach. Really weird. He IS actually the brother of a fairly big artist Mayson Jennings. He IS NOT, however, related to Waylan Jennings, Shooter Jennings, Peter Jennings, or Greg Jennings (the Green Bay Packers receiver). We gave him a bunch of crap about being related to all of them the whole night. He was cool about though. His music is very spanish-esque. Hard to explain but interesting no less.

After Matt Jennings, Cory took the stage. He started off with a solo song tentatively called Snubbs after my car, and also me. I believe the song will officially be called Her Honesty on the cd. Anyways, its a little ditty with just him, his acoustic guitar, and a harmonica. Yes he does all three by himself. Its a sweet song. Then the Starlight Gospel came on the stage. My other roommate, Jeff Stone also plays guitar with Cory (see the picture above). Jeff is quite tall and skinny, and significantly dwarfs Cory onstage, so its always funny to watch them. Actually Jeff is taller than everyone else in the band. Pretty funny to see on stage. Regardless though, Jeff adds some sweet back up vocals and complimentary guitar parts to the song that would sound a little empty without him. The past few times I have seen Cory he has opened for other people such as Peter Breinholdt(sp?), so he hasn't gotten a long set. Since this show was his, he played for awhile which was nice. I seriously think this was probably his best performance that I have ever seen. I highly recommend checking out his music as well as Code Hero's.

Cory Mon & the Starlight Gospel

Code Hero

If you click on the links above you can listen to some songs by each artist. Of course they are free of charge.

Scotty and Marie...

2008-01-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

Oh man, how do I begin this story? Friday night I was working, at the Mac Shack, and low and behold who comes in to eat? Marie Osmond. Apparently Marie loves her "star power" and decided to drop her name by saying, "Table for 3, for MARIE OSMOND," Haha. For some reason I was almost rolling on the ground in laughter when I heard she said that. Like we are going to just make a table up and leave because Marie Osmond is here, oohh, she is so famous. Haha. So the hostess told her it would be 45 minutes for the wait. Come on, we made Larry King wait when he came in over Christmas. We are for sure making her wait. Seeing Donny or Marie in Provo is like seeing Kobe Bryant at the Staples Center. You're pretty much expecting to see one them or both sooner or later. So after being told about the wait, she apparently left without taking a little buzzer/pager thing to tell her she is ready to be sat. I can almost hear her thoughts, "Marie Osmond doesn't wait! How dare they make me wait! I was on Dancing with the Stars!" To her defense, I thought about later and came to the conclusion that if I was famous I would also drop my name if it got me a table faster.

Anyways, back to the story. She ends up coming back and guess whose section she is sat in? Thats right! Yours Truly! I immediately told her what a huge Dancing with the Stars fan I was and how much I loved her and was sad she got voted off so early on the show. Actually the way it really went down was I told her that an acquaintance of mine from Junior High and High School, Sabrina, was on that show with her. She proceeded to tell me she was a sweet girl and blah blah blah. She asked if I watched the show a lot and told that I had actually never seen it. Thats seriously the truth. I told her that we don't have cable so we rely on a crappy antenna for our tv and its realy fuzzy. Therefore I don't ever watch tv. Haha, the real reason I haven't seen that show is because it is crap. Haha. Of course my mommy raised me with at least some manners, I failed to mention that.

I hope I haven't lost a lot of people with the length of the story because the best part has yet to be told. Marie said she if I could just turn and burn them that she would be very greatful because they had to get to a movie. I told I would do my best to get her in and out as fast as possible, and just for everyones info I meant it. I would never serve someone badly for any reason, especially a woman who I know will tip me well. All three wanted diet cokes with waters, as well as a hefty amount of lemons, like any woman. haha. So, I proceeded to hurry my butt off to get her all the stuff she wanted. Now, I am pretty confident in my serving abilities and how fast I can do things. I just barely won a competition for going the longest without breaking anything(i.e. glass, plate). Actually, I've never broken anything since I have worked here. That being said, while I was handing out their six glasses on a tray, guess who for the first time dropped and broke something at Macaroni Grill? YEP! Thats right. Diet coke...all over. Most of it got on the floor, but some did get on her and on her purse, which I am sure was about $3000 or so. How poetic? I never spill or break anything and the one time I serve a "celebrity" I do it. No one let me forget it the entire night. I received many high fives and "Thats so awesome" 's. Marie, I have to say, was very cool about it. She was the slightest bit mad or annoyed. So I really have to say that overall she was pretty cool about the entire thing. She also left me a very generous tip.

Jack Frost

2008-01-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

After 2 winters in the Dakotas and 3 here in Utah, I am seriously over the cold. Im tired of driving to school in a car that is as cold inside as it is outside. I can't wait till this winter is over and I'm back in SoCal.

School, work, workout, and more work!

2008-01-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, so times are way hectic right now. I'm sure everyone knows that I am taking 19 credits in school right now. It is absolutely crazy how much time I either spend at school, or on homework/studying. One of the many classes I am taking is a mandatory 1-unit capstone simulation class. It is essentially a "game" but it is probably the worst game ever created. Its like monopoly on steroids. Just imagine if monopoly and Barry Bonds had a kid together, this game would be that kid. Its absolutely ridiculous. We are put in charge of a company and have to make all the decisions for this company. Sounds easy on the surface, but you are charged with the R&D(research and development), marketing, financing, yada yada yada. I'm not talking about making a simple decision like pick the best decision out of a,b,c, or d. You have to decide how much money to put into each, how many products you want to sell, whether or not to start a new product(plus come up with specs), whether to drop a product, and various other things. Its a headache. On top of that, you graded on how well your company does. All that for a 1-unit class. Absolute ridiculousness. Also, on a funny note, my teacher looks like Newman from Seinfeld. Its really uncanny. Every time I see him I want to say, "Hello, Newman!" Haha.

Any resemblance?

On to work. The Mac Shack is good. I really hate serving tables and relying on cheap Utahans for my wages, but thus is the nature of the beast. Only a bit longer and people will be serving me for their wages which is a much better situation. We've hired a bunch of new servers so after 8 months I am somewhat of a veteran there.

Body-For-Life is going great. I've been on it for a little longer than 2 weeks and I'm already seeing results, which is encouraging. One of my fall backs is the Myoplex drinks that program sells at Target. They taste really good and are very filling so they work well for a "meal". As of late Target has been out of them so I have wavered a bit the past couple of days, but not much.

So on top of Macaroni Grill I just got another job. My friend Dan runs a call center for Dish Network and he needs someone there from 6 to 9 to take calls that are pretty much easy sign-ups. He asked me if I wanted to do it and I thought it would be a good idea and easy way to make a little extra easy cash. I'll get 50 bucks a sale and apparently most people that call in are all ready to sign up anyways. I'll be doing that two nights a week. So my plate is pretty full this semester.

I'd like to get some pictures up here but i can't find the cord to hook my camera up to my computer. As soon as I find that or buy a new one i'll post some pictures.

Body for Life

2008-01-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am seriously sick and tired of being fat. I know many people would say, "Oh you aren't fat," and I guess I wouldn't call myself "fat" fat. But I have to be honest with myself. I am fat. Im over-weight, and I am over it. It hinders my dating life, my self image, and options on the clothes I wear. Im so over be the fat funny guy. And I know I have said this many many times, but I have reached the threshold point.

So, my solution is to start Body-for-Life (BFL). For those of you who don't know what BFL is, it is an eating/exercise program started by guy named Bill Phillips. The eating side basically consists of eating 5 or 6 small meals a day each with a lean-protein and a complex-carb. The sweetest thing about it is that one day a week you get to eat whatever you want to. This throws your body off to what is happening the other 6 days so its more effective. The exercise program is pretty sweet as well. It requires going to the gym 6 days a week but it crams your work outs so you don't have to be at the gym for more than an hour.

Anyways, I'm excited to say the least. I've talked to a number of people that have done it in the past and everyone says how great it works. I was first introduced by my buddy Jeff while I was in California for Christmas. It sounded intriguing and I was definitely ready to do something about my situation. I've been doing it for a little over a week now and i'm already liking it. Hopefully I'll see some results here pretty soon.

First Post

2008-01-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

So I'm off and rolling with this first post. I am new to this blog thing but it sounded like a fun idea so here I am. Check back frequently for updates. As for what is going on right now, I just started school yesterday. It was the beginning of a tough semester. For those of you who don't know, I will be taking 19 credits this semester in order to be done and graduated in April. On top of school I'll be working at Macaroni Grill. How exciting?! I'm still living in the same house in North Orem with my same roommates. Our friend Donnie from Moreno Valley decided to move up to Utah, so he is staying with us right now. We all have a blast together so hopefully he will be staying for awhile, if not indefinitely.

Moving on to the most amazing thing ever. Everybody needs to see the movie JUNO. It is the best movie I have seen in awhile. I highly, highly recommend it. If anyone is a fan of Arrested Development this movie is for you. It stars Jason Bateman and Michael Cera from Arrested Development. If you are a fan of real life comedies or dramadies, if you will, this movie is for you. It is PG-13 so it is appropriate for all of you out there. Go see it ASAP and enjoy!