To be or not to be...

I don't wanna get into specifics, but weird dream last night...

So I just got back from my family’s vacation to Hawaii, and it was a really good trip.  While most people stay in Waikiki or Honolulu on the island of Oahu, we stayed in Waikoloa, on the big island.  It was cool, much more provincial, with small towns that were at least a half-hour’s drive away from each other.  My parents have this cool time-share, so we stayed in a huge “hotel room” that had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a living room, and a dining room.  Yeah, it was pretty much a small apartment, and the kitchen/washing machines helped us save a lot of money. 

The weather was nice; it was hot, but manageable.  We spent nearly everyday in the pool or on the beach.  The pool was at the hotel (we were at the condo buildings), but we could use their facilities for free.  And man, this was the biggest pool I had ever seen.  It had three bridges to get across it, waterfalls, and a water slide.  In addition to the pool, the hotel has a lagoon area that lets water in right from the ocean (which is right next to the pool, by the way).  So there was this lake right in the middle, where you could rent canoes and aquabikes and snorkels and stuff.  It was a ton of fun, and it’s needless to say that I’m significantly darker.

We also had the privilege of swimming with dolphins and watching them do tricks.  We even got to kiss the dolphin, right on the lips.  I wasn’t really feeling it, but let’s just say that I think I’ve got somebody in Hawaii who’s really going to miss me, hahaha.  We did some hiking down a mountain to a black-sand beach, which was pretty fascinating and different, seeing a beach like that.  The sand comes from broken down lava rock.  When the lava hits the water, the mix of that hot and cold shatters the drying lava into sand.  We also got to see the active volcano (which was pretty much just steam) and we got to do some lava rock hiking to be able to see from afar, lava flowing into the ocean (which from our view, was just steam).

So overall, it was an excellent trip, and we took home a ton of shortbread cookies, macadamia nuts, and Kona coffee to prove it.  The only thing disappointing was that because it was more provincial and less city-like, I saw a bunch of tourists and not very many locals.  By locals, I mean the mixed Asian girls you all know I like, haha.  But it was really good to get away from my thoughts for a bit to try to relax and hang loose (can I say that with no pun intended?).  I was actually really bummed out to be coming back.  I watched the beautiful rows of lights from the plane window as we were landing, and it just seemed like all my thoughts had punched me in the face.  Life is real again.  Aloha, indeed.

A picture of the pool, stolen from flickr.

It was 7:55 AM this past Monday morning when my wonderful cousin, Taylor decided to wake me up.  7:55 AM, 5 minutes before my alarm.  Monday, the day I was supposed to take Taylor to the train station so that she could get back home to San Diego.  “I have to leave a little earlier today”, Taylor said.  Little did I know what that would really entail.  Still groggy from the ‘My Sassy Girl’ viewing session that had just ended only hours before, I laid in bed for a few minutes longer until I decided to get up, at which point I progressed at a snail’s pace as I brushed my teeth and got dressed.  It was 8:30 by the time we got around to leaving—for breakfast.  You see, Taylor had to be on a 9:40 train from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles in order to make it to Oceanside by 11:00 so that her mom could pick her up. Thinking that downtown was only about 20 minutes away from Pasadena, I figured we had tons of time.  It was 8:36 when we got to Corner Bakery & Café.  It being Taylor’s first visit there and my first visit in a very long time, we didn’t know what to order.  So we spent some time mulling over the menu, finally deciding to order two bowls of Chilled Berry Almond Swiss Oatmeal, an orange juice, and a chai cappuccino from the dorky, too-happy-for-a-Monday-morning cashier.  We also spent some time arguing about how I should pay, an argument I lost.  We decided to sit outside, which took the server a couple seconds longer to find us and to give us our food.  Upon the food’s arrival, Taylor’s chai cappuccino wasn’t ready yet, so instead of eating her food right away, she went inside to check on it.  Sure enough, the cashier did have too much of an easygoing attitude, and only began preparing Taylor’s drink when she saw her.  Now the table we had been sitting at had uneven legs, causing it to wobble back and forth.  I put my foot on one leg to weigh it down, but in the middle of the meal, I accidentally lifted my foot, which resulted in Taylor’s chai cappuccino spilling on the table, and us having to clean it up.  At the end of the meal, we both realized I had forgotten to give her the movies she had wanted from my flash drive, so we opened her laptop and waited for it to boot before ultimately deciding that we’d transfer the files in the car.  It was about 9:05 when we left for the station, and with traffic lax and me thinking that we’d still get there with plenty of time to spare, I drove a little more leisurely than usual.  At 9:35 and a block away from the station I learned that she still had to print out her ticket, so I dropped her off with her bag still in my trunk.  She went to one kiosk, which failed to print her ticket, and then another, which also failed, before she went to the counter, to another easygoing person whose printer was also not working.  And if only one thing had happened differently… If that ticket kiosk had printed right away… If I had driven just a little faster… If we hadn’t waited for that laptop to boot before deciding it would take too long… If I hadn’t lifted my foot from that uneven table leg and spilled her drink… If Taylor’s drink had been prepared right away because the cashier had been attentive… If it hadn’t taken us so long to order and pay… If I hadn’t been so slow to get ready and I had been able to wake up a little earlier after a late night... then Taylor would have been on her train headed for Oceanside with her mom waiting to pick her up.  But life being what it is, a series of intersecting lines and incidents out of anyone’s control, Taylor got her ticket at 9:42 and ran for the platform, only to learn that the train had left her.

What ensued was probably one of the most stressful days I’ve ever lived through. 

PART 1

Calling my dad to get yelled at and to figure out what to do, getting gas, having my phone die, deciding to drive all the way to San Diego, picking up Amanda from school, and going back home to get my phone charger.

PART 2

Calling Taylor’s mom, who told us to just take the later train instead of drive all the way there, realizing it’d be too late to drive back to Union Station, speeding to the Fullerton station only to be late by 5 minutes, being 10 minutes early to the Irvine station, only to spend 10 minutes looking for the station on the street it was supposed to be on.  All this while getting calls from my parents who felt that it was a good time to lecture me while I was driving, and also while periodically calling or texting Josh who was on the Internet feeding us directions to the stations.

EPILOGUE

I drove all the way to Taylor’s house, eventually getting there at about 1:00 PM.  Her mom was able to get to work on time, I was able to drive a little less stressed, and my parents were a mix of disappointed and pissed off.  Hanging out for a while, I left at about 3:00 to hit traffic in Pomona (there’s just nothing positive I have to say about that city).  I got home at about 5:30 but immediately had to take Amanda to basketball practice.  I was home and lying down at 5:45, still feeling my heart beating quickly from the adrenaline binge I had gone through.  With my dad home at 6:00, he had me pull weeds in the front for two hours, and has since had me doing manual labor around the house all week.  I got lectured and got yelled at about responsibility and unnecessary gas and bad impressions and how this always happens and how my time management needs to improve.  I understand, it was my fault alone, but I had heard all this while I was driving.  Hearing it again at the dinner table was just overkill.  Actually, if you want to talk about excess and overkill, in addition to the manual labor, I’m now not allowed to sleep in past 8AM and for some reason they’re not allowing me to play in my basketball game this Sunday.  They’re all consequences, but I’ll get through, I don’t care.  I screwed up and I did what I had to do—there was no other way around it.

Overall, I loved Taylor’s visit; we had a ton of fun.  Thursday, Venice Beach with Gianina by day, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ at night.  Friday, bowling in the afternoon, family party at night.  Saturday, the Funk Rumble Block Party in Chinatown, ‘Public Enemies’ at the Americana with Josh, and a visit to a nice view.  Sunday, my back-to-back basketball games, and then night swimming, stargazing, and ‘My Sassy Girl’.  Ahh, the difference a car makes.  It was also just really good for me to have Taylor around to talk to.  I have to admit, I had been feeling a little lonely and lost without purpose for a while, and even though those feelings haven’t really gone away, it was good to get away from it all while also being able to talk about it with someone as intelligent and contemplative as Taylor.  Here’s to the best cousin ever, and to one of the most amazing people I know.  Hopefully your next visit is as Ethiopian utopian as this one! :)

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ahh, blog world.  It's been a while now, hasn't it? Yeah, it's been more than 2 months.  Well, let me go ahead and highlight what's gone on this past April, May, and June...

the start of the spring quarter... getting cesar chavez day off on a random tuesday and going to Victoria Gardens that day for the last day before the tax increase...working at the bookstore again...the end of Ice Water's season...parent's 22nd anniversary...Easter... trip to Irvine and the cute girl in the red Nissan Versa...Meeting Hwiram and dominating everyone but Gianina in Street Fighter (she got lucky)... Korean food, Guppy's, IT'S DE BYEST... boba/pho/korean bbq/chinese food outings with Stephen, Allyson, Jesse, Andy, and once even Leah.... Andrew's birthday...Andy's birthday...doing my informative speech on the History of the Joker...gaining weight and working out...doing well in all my classes...a trip to New York...prom...the end of the spring quarter...getting stupidly addicted to The Sims 3... packing up/moving out for the start of summer...Inside Moves Basketball...my birthday...the Lakers winning the 2009 NBA Championship!

movies recently watched; 17 Again, Monsters vs. Aliens 3D, Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, X-men Origins: Wolverine, Slumdog Millionaire, Rocky Balboa, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, In Bruges, Kobe Doin' Work(?), Up 3D, Twilight, Cloverfield, Seven Pounds, Star Trek, The Hangover, Terminator Salvation.

Movie Notes...

17 Again would have been better if girls weren't screaming at the screen every time Efron came on. That Sweeney Todd musical's soundtrack was stuck in our heads for a week.  i really liked Wolverine.  It wasn't as good as i had anticipated, but it was pretty good.  Wolverine's my favorite from the Marvel world; Batman's my guy overall.  I find that interesting.... both characters kinda have that haunted past thing that drives them.... do i relate with those characters? Slumdog Millionaire proves that sometimes, you just...win.   Eternal Sunshine etc. is an amazing, trippy, but really good movie.  I actually really enjoyed Kobe Doin' Work, despite all the criticisms that i agree with.  It gave me an insight into the NBA that i've just never thought about before.  Firstly, in the NBA, you can't really stop people.  Secondly, with all the tape out there, you pretty much know everyone's plays already, it's about executing your plays and your options despite what happens.  Up in 3D was really cool. Twilight and Cloverfield are underrated, but i totally see why people think they suck.  watching the Hangover on my birthday was soooo funny.  Terminator Salvation, despite my mom not liking it, was really cool.

i knew something like this would happen, so i guess i can only really talk about what's happened recently....

For two weeks in the spring quarter I....

ate like a monster.  I read online that to gain weight, i had to eat 5,000 calories per day.  I had tried earlier in the year to eat healthy and gain weight... it doesn't work.  my metabolism's simply way too fast.  So I ate every meal at the buffet Commons until i was full.  i usually don't eat till i'm full, probably because my taste buds suck and i get bored of food quickly... but this time i forced myself to eat... and when i was full, i kept eating.  and it worked.  in the first week of this diet, i gained 7 pounds.  the next week, i gained 5.  I went from weighing 150 to 162.  But i stopped after that... before reaching my goal of 170...  i...uh, started to develop a belly... haha.  those lower abs, the ones that are the hardest to cut up, the ones which i've been working hard on for YEARS, had gone away.  oooh, and don't get me wrong, i ate a ton but worked out EVERY DAY.  so now, it's really all 12 pounds of muscle. and since coming off the diet, those lower abs, though somewhat diminished, have returned.

New York was...

Indescribable.  It was everything i wanted it to be, and it's a good thing i didn't choose to visit Fordham when i got in.  I knew that if we had simply visited, I would've wanted to go right away, and i was right.  I love the city life.  I just like the culture around NY... people seem smarter, iono.  The nightlife is amazing... I stayed in California because of the friends and the weather, but with how this year has gone, i feel like i could've been really happy over there... c'mon, Cali... one more chance. We visited the Statue of Liberty, saw a really good Broadway play called, Next to Normal, went to Forhdham for Jared's graduation, went shopping on 5th avenue, went around central park... akk, i loved it.  I missed the wide skies and palm trees here, but i gotta admit, i really do miss the buildings and taxis.

I'm happy that...

I made Joanne happy at her prom.  That's all i have to say about that.

My birthday...

Went really well, relaxed and all.  after going through a final and a speech, we went on to BJ's for dinner and then watched The Hangover.  Leah took an hour drive to visit, which was just thee sweetest thing.  Afterwards, anticipating moving back home and after fooling around with the Sims, we packed up.  Little did i know it would take until 6 in the morning.... haha. you don't realize how much stuff you've accumulated through the year until you have to fit it into your car.  So we stayed up the whole night, sleeping at 6... we put a condom on my RA's door with a squirt of lotion in it... hahahahaha.  But overall, it was a great birthday.  You know how people always ask you on your birthday, "how does it feel like being __ years old?" and you reply with, "feels the same" or something like that... Well, this year's the first year where i actually feel older.  It might be a mix of feelings with the end of my first year of college, but i feel older, mentally and physically.  I went to the gym nearly every day.  I participated in the first basketball team i've been on since my junior year in high school.  I've learned what my body can and can't do.  So physically, i feel older.  Maturity wise, wIth all that has gone on this year, i think that i had to mature, and subconsciously, i definitely did so.  the 6-month-ago-Brian is so different from the now, new and improved Brian. 19, here we go.

The school year....

has come and gone, and my what an amazing year it's been. I comitted myself to getting straight As in the last quarter (which is why you haven't seen me on here), and i've managed 3 As and a B+. Argh... the B+ class was upper division and it was pretty hard, but still, i shouldn't have gotten a B+.... Anyways, I'll save specifics for later, but it's been an awesome experience of growth.  Through all the ups and downs, the independence has allowed me to find myself.  It's a shame that i couldn't know what i know now, back then.  Read that a couple of times, you'll get it.

The Sims 3...

is seriously sooo stupid addicting.  damn its goal oriented nature and endless challenges.  that's what i'm all about!  Stallyphon had to pay for their cd rom from Target.... i got mine for free by other means... hahaha

Inside Moves Basketball....

is exactly what i've needed.  As of now, we're undefeated, and i've scored a TOTAL of 5 points in 3 games!  Like, there's no NEED for me to score, and yet we're winning! It's a beautiful thing, and i haven't been on any team like it. my scoring's been off with my weightlifting, but it's coming back, so we're gonna be even better!   Plus, the teams against us are bigger, older, more athletic, while i'm the oldest guy on our team. i'm a little outta position, playing down low for the first time ever, but hey, whatever brings the victories.  Having a coach makes a ton of a difference, and he being my godfather makes it all the more sweet.  Look out for Inside Moves at Nogales High School on Sundays!

The Lakers...

winning the championship is sooo well deserved.  It's strange to think they haven't won it in 7 years when i remember like yesterday Kobe jumping on Shaq's shoulders and pumping his fist.  I've never seen Kobe as happy as he was from this chip though, that smile as the final seconds went off was just soooo, wow.  They've had a ton of ups and downs, and they have finally come out as the last team standing.  big ups to Fisher.  I see Adam Morrison getting drenched in champagne in his suit.  Sun Yue too! haha, I feel proud to be a diehard Laker fan.

Quotes of the Months:

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

~Rocky Balboa

This song, stupid and super catchy, has been in my mind for the past 3 months, hahaha. check it out.