Merry Christmas

 

The Tropical Sound Of Music

Aloha from Chico's Laxson Auditorium!

Here are Peaches and myself waiting to see my favorite living Hawaiian artist: Jake Shimabukuro, THE WORLDS FASTEST UKULELE PLAYER!

What a way to end an amazing weekend.
2:30PM, Newport Beach, Fashion Island, Yardhouse, Alaskan Amber & Cherry Wheat, my brother and I, beer.

Amazing.
~Blake

Another Glass

Check another off the list, this is number SEVEN on my Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. tour.
What better way to spend it than with my family (minus Monica and Topher) in Long Beach.

I can't wait to eat!

I Was Shown Heaven

I'm at the Yardhouse with my brother in Irvine. This is my 'welcome to SoCal' gift: a yard glass (2 feet!) of ice cold Kona Longboard Lager.

I love my brother!

In The Middle Of Nowhere

This sign makes it tough to get a ride :-p

Off of California 299 about a mile away from juvenile detention facility.

A Late Night Outing

Happy 21st birthday Crystal!

Concert Number Two

What can I say, we are about to see a live performance of Pink Martini (the band, not the drink) here, at the beautiful Laxson Auditorium at Chico State!

Oh The Beauty

I have never in my life heard anything so moving. I was brought to tears when they performed Wagner.

Sarah and I at the North State Symphony at Chico State

I Love My Dad

Nothing like a quick game of pool at The Four Seasons Resort Lana'i, The Lodge at Koele.

Welcome To Hawai'i?

See what I mean, this is as un-hawaiian as it gets.

Another Island Another World

Another tradition of ours is going over to Lana'i and staying the night. This year only my dad and I wanted to go. The amazing thing about this island in how un-hawaiian it feels. Only 3,000 people live on this island which is owned by one man (well, 98% of it). I'll post a picture when we get to the town; it looks and feels like Tahoe.

Being Saved On Vacation

Nothing like getting woken up by mom saying were running late for church; I thought we were on vacation. Nevertheless, mass at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Kihei is fun due to a vast amount of singing and closing hula/prayer.

A Dream Come True

It's amazing! Going to Hana on bikes is unlike anything I have ever done! Now this is a true father son moment I will never forget.

I Love My Employer!

OH MY GOD! TARGET WEST SACRAMENTO SELLS BEER! BEER AT 10% OFF. . . I THINK I'M GOING TO CRY!

It's Gone. . .It's All Gone

Nothing like losing 10 lbs of hair to usher in the summer. . .albeit a little late.

Hometown Brew

Nothing like having a beer with your brother in a hide away brewery (Beemann's Brewery in Roseville, CA)

Sugar We're Goin Down

Fall Out Boy them selves. The warm up bands were sweet, but oh God. This is more than I bargained for!

Sleep Train Pavilion @ Concord

Waiting For Fall Out Boy

Nothing like an ice cold beer and friends to have a good time sitting in the sun.

A Bridge To Far

I know it has been a while since I've made a real post...but you'll have to wait a little longer. Today I'm in Redding, at the sun dial bridge.

Finals

My last final kicked my ass. So her I am @ Bellas Sports Pub...killing brain cells that need to die! As a side note I have been here for and hour and i'm starting to feel numb...hehe

Speechless

THEY CARRY CLASSIC NINTENDO GAMES!!

I know...

I know I'm a dork but the entire store has a railroad theme and there are real palm trees growing in the store!

My God Its Open!

Fry's Roseville...SWEET!

Happy Easter

Here's looking at you kid. Have a wonderful Easter Sunday everyone.

I'm Flying Home

That's right...I'm flying into Chico. Thank you United Express!

In Coasta Mesa

This is what you find at the flea markets in So Cal!

The Homeland

My god we made it! We're in Mexico right now!

Driving Past L.A.

Amazing, simply amazing.

How Cool Is This

Nothing like what you find on a quick stop for pilsner glasses.

Oh My God!

Here I am in Hollywood...at a Bubba Gumps! What an unexpected surprise.

On Our Way To Mexico!

Here we are in Rocklin, picking up Toph's brother (Kenny). Only 600 miles to go!

There She Is

I know...where in the nose bleed section...but its worth it!

A Night Out With My Dad

Here we are, waiting for the show to start. We are at Laxon Auditorium at Chico State, about to witness Lily Tomlin do her magical comedy routine.

The Number 23

Ok, I'll just cut to the chase. . . go see this movie.



This movie proves once and for all that Jim Carrey can play a serious roll, and play it well.

Like Robin Williams in "One Hour Photo," "The Number 23" will freak you out with its in hidden messages and the unusual darkness that only Joel Schumacher can bring of our beloved Carrey.

Enjoy!

P.S. you'll notice that I am Blogging at 11:12 PM. 11+12=23

And So It Begins

Nothing like 7:30 mass before class.

So Lent Is Here Once Again

Lent is here once again. And as a billion Catholics around the globe make personal sacrifices these 40 days and 40 nights (not counting Sundays because that is when Jesus arose, and is not appropriate for fasting; it's a day for celebration), here is the list of what I am giving up.

• The required no meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday
  
• I will not use my credit cards (unless I'm flat broke and I need to buy groceries or gas)
• I will not eat fast food or go out to eat (excluding Sundays, business lunches, Jamba Juice, Starbucks, or Denny's for the occasional "Blakers")
• I will go to Church every Sunday during Lent
• I will stop smoking (cigars, cigarettes, my pipe, or hookah)
  
• No SEX* (thats right folks, no intercourse, no cunnilingus, no fellatio, no. . .well you get the point.)

Now this is very progressive for me, I usually give up caffeine or something along those lines. But to quasi quote John F. Kennedy, "I choose to do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

I hope that this radical change will bring me to where I need to be, and take away the numbness that I have been feeling for so long.

*Now to make sure I don't go completely insane, masturbation and kissing are still allowed.

Insert Title Here

Have you ever walked around after it has just rained? It as if the world has cleansed its self of all the grime, dirt, and trash that has been pilling up since the last time the earth grew anew. And as you walk you are surrounded by this deafening silence, as if your surrounding do not know weather to applaud this progressive movement forward; or to cry in anguish as they see the world that they created around them destroyed in one swift movement of God's hand. You notice that out of destruction, new life starts to form.

You take a deep breath.

You feel all your animosity, all the pain that has been festering inside you, start to diminish in size. What you have held on to, what has made you second guess every action you have committed in months past, starts to fade away.

You exhale.

It's 2007. It has been one year since the start of the most difficult year of my life thus far.

In the process of twelve months, I have lost a grandfather. I have lost an uncle. I have lost a women that I though I would spend the rest of my life with. I was placed on Academic Probation. I let slip through my fingers a person that wanted to make me happy. I gave my heart away to someone who lied about the way she felt about me. I lost direction of who I am.

And every time I started down the road towards self repair, I was blindsided by the very people who I trusted just moments before.

Jenn cheated on me, and I foolishly gave her another chance. She broke my heart a second time. I foolishly asked for another chance. But my words fell upon deaf ears and a mute heart. I saw her the other day. I remember thinking to my self "why did I let this one get to me?" To be honest I do not know. Maybe it was her youth. Maybe it was her fear of the world outside of Chico. Maybe it was her virgin eyes that were starting to see life outside of High School. Nevertheless, when I saw here the other day, she was not the same person that I fell so deeply in love with. She looked older. Her eyes were listless behind a false image of mediocre excitement. She walked as if she was carrying the weight of the world. It was if she had aged 7 years since we were together. We struck up a conversation. She is still with her manager. She is doing quite well.

She in engaged now, and I wish her the best.

Elizabeth was the one I let slip through my fingers. All she wanted was to make me happy. She was there when Stephanie and I were no more. She was there in spirit when my grandfather died. She took me to see my favorite comedian; Gabriel Iglesias. She took me on a tour of the Mormon Temple in Folsom. She introduced me to a world I knew very little about. She was there to help me pick up the pieces when Jenn first broke my heart. She was there. And when I realized everything that she had done for me, for us, it was to late. She was with someone else.

She is engaged and pregnant with her first child; I wish her all the happiness in the world.

Stephanie what my love. She was my life for two wonderful years. We traveled every chance we got. To us, there was no boundaries where we could go. But she knew we were not meant to be. I tried everything to make her fall in love with me all over again; but nothing I could do would work. And when it ended, I forced my self to move on a fast as I could. I was running, running away from hurt, from anger, from the pain of being alone. And when I was truly alone months later I realized that I never dealt with the fact that we would never be together again. She moved on, but I had not. I will always love her. The world was passing me by, and I was standing still, memorized by the blurring streak of people passing me by.

She is engaged and pregnant with her first child; I wish her happiness in the years to follow. She out of everyone deserves to be happy.

So here we are today; rushing head first into a new year. And how am I you ask? Well, I am here. How I am feeling after all of this?

Numb.

No matter what I do, who I'm with, or what I accomplish, in the end I feel numb. For so long I was a small vessel on an empty sea. Being buffeted by the waves of self loathing, engulfed in the lack of self efficacy, never knowing if I would return to the home of self worth. And at points where it seemed as if I could not make it, my closest friends stepped in, to point me in the right direction.

Home is in the distance, I can see it. I hope to reach it soon.

I Need To Say Something...

I know it has been awhile since I have made a "real" post. And I promise that tomorrow you will find one.

The thing is I need to let all my ideas settle so I can format it into words.

Trust me there will be plenty to read about.

I saw Jenn today. . .

W.O.W. Now That's A Line

So here we are, at the Chico Mall, waiting till midnight so Toph, David, and Nicole can pick up there copy of Burning Crusade (looking at Toph's recept, he pre-ordered it on Feb. 12th, 2006). Here is a picture of the last 3rd of the line about 20 minutes ago. Since then the line has grown by about 50 people. You know that these people are not going to sleep for the next couple of days.

An Almost Perfect Game

Almost! ALMOST! Well anyways congrats to Toph for getting 11 out of 12 strikes for a total of 279.

My First Benihana Experience

Nothing like drinking ice tea out of a Buddha and a Samurai, plus for some extra dough you get to keep the glasses!