Getting Back To A Normal Routine

These past two week have been hell, and right when things are starting to turn around, I get kicked back down to the ground.

So here is what happened this weekend.

Monica (my sister) and I were suppose to go camping this weekend. We talked about it about a month ago and we were dead set on going. Yet, with the death of my uncle Bill, and her fear of having to drive to Chico by her self, she bailed on me. I know I did not want to see if I could work (never turn away from a work free weekend), so I decided to still go camping. Now this is where Jenn enters the story.

I met Jenn this summer. It was the night the Lizzy came over because she had been on vacation for a week. And there was Jenn, lying on Chris's bed, watching Brokeback Mountain (on a date with Topher if you will). The next day I ask Toph if we are ever going to see her again, to which he replied no (choice words omitted). A couple days later she texted messages me and we start to hang out. I never thought about a relationship with her because after being with Steph for two years, I wanted to be single for a change (that was nine months ago). And then my uncle Bill died.

Something changed inside me last week. I met with Steph before I headed down to my family. And after listening to her talk about this guy she is with and how we would never be together again, I knew I had to move on.

I arrived at my parents’ house late Thursday afternoon. This is the third funeral in under a year for my family: Great Uncle Frank, Grandpa Rogelio, and now Uncle Bill. The funny thing about all this is this is the only time we get to see the extended family, even though we all live in the Loomis-Roseville area.

But thought out the whole ordeal there was one person on my mind and in my thoughts; that was Jenn. She called me as the weekend progressed to see how I was doing, letting me know that she was there any time, with a shoulder to cry on. She kept me strong and she was by my side (in sprit) when we laid him to rest right next to my Grandma Hazel and his cousin Danny. She was there when I needed her the most.

Coming back to Chico I knew I had to ask her to be mine. I brought her flowers to work, called her when I thought about her (which was often), and called her best friend to let her know what my intentions were. The best part of all what Jenn was starting to fall for me all over again. The conclusion of all this was the camping trip. I asked her to come with me, I asked her to be my girlfriend.

I was happy; I did not feel alone anymore. The air was clean, the lake was pristine, and Toph's presence made us smile. Nothing could go wrong. I had my best friend, I had the girl of my dreams, and I met a beer distributor named Chris who told us to drink up because he brought three full kegs of beer he was not going to finish (this guy brought a portable tap and everything, he was the best camping neighbor ever!).

Sunday nigh, back in Chico, I call Jenn to tell her good night. She tells me that she is thinking of me and that she cares for me and that she starting to fall in love with me. I tell her how happy she has made me and how great this weekend was. I end the call with "be careful sweetheart" because I know how here friends get when they're drunk.

The phone rings at midnight thirty, its been 20 minutes since I told her goodnight.

"Blake, I don't deserve you."

"What do you mean sweetheart?"

"I just slept with Andrew"

"Just now?"

"Yea. . ."

God this hurts, I need a moment . . . .

A Rare Happy Moment

A beer, burger, and a cigarette at the Bear. A meal for a heart broken man.

How Fucked Up Is This?

Returning To Chico

It's nice to return home, sleep in your own bed, and collect your thoughts. My uncle Bill was to young, only 62.

I read this poem during the funeral on behalf of my Aunt Ronda, its titled "The Dash"

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend.
He referred to the dates on his tombstone from the beginning . . . to the end.

He noted that first came the date of his birth and spoke of the second with tears,
but he said that what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that he spent alive on earth,
and now only those who loved him know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own; the cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard, are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left. (You could be at "dash mid-range.")

If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and what's real,
and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And . . . be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

How are you spending your dash? How am I spending mine?

All We Are Is Dust In The Wind

My Uncle Bill
Monica & Katie's 8th Grade Graduation
June 4th, 2003
From Right to Left: My dad, my uncle Bill

August 21, 1944 to September 13, 2006

Today my uncle Bill lost his battle against cancer. It all started with a trip to the doctor for back pain and a bad headache about a month ago, and ended up with a diagnosis of cancer of the Liver and Pancreas, as well as a mild stroke.

He was only 62. He is my dad's older brother, and Grandpa Tony's first born.

There is so much I want to say. . .but I don't type anymore.

Last Week Surprise

So I'm walking home from class last Thursday when I get this call from Lizzy.

"What are you doing tonight"

"Nothing important, why?"

"I have two tickets to see Charlie Murphy and the Punchline, are you interested?"

So of course I sad yes. She picked me up at 5:30 and we were off to Sacramento. All in all the show was ok (Gabriel Iglesias was by far better), with the best part of his routine being the end where he talked about his stint on the Chappelle Show.

Here is a clip of what made Charlie Murphy his own, and not just Eddie Murphy's brother. Enjoy!

A Powerful Voice

On our way home from work, Hannah (my neighbor who also works at Target; we car pooled today), played me a song. It was Pink's "Dr. Mr. President." I knew I had to share this song with everyone, so I youtubed it. This is not the official music video (because there isn't one), but it's one of the best I've seen tonight.



Please, listen to the lyrics, feel the song. If you are moved like I was, you will find your self with new respect towards Pink and her music.

It's Finally Free!

After almost three years of charging $6.99 a month for shotty wifi service on campus, Chico State finally decided to fund the fledgling program. Now that their revenue source is taken care of, and guaranteed, CNS (the college ran phone company) offers wifi free to anyone with a portal account and a laptop (well any wifi enabled device).

I hope my PDA will work with the network.

A Must See Movie

With the conclusion of the first week of school, loosing my health insurance (turing the mythical age of 23 is a bitch), buying health insurance (thank you Chico State's Blue Cross Network), and going to see a great movie, I can say that this past week has been good.

But the movie "Little Miss Sunshine," has to be by far the best comedy I have seen all year. The movie is filled with jokes that at times are not funny at all (kind of like watching a train wreck in slow motion). I honestly don't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a movie. I definitely recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed "Office Space" or "The Full Monty." This is one I am definitely going to buy when it comes out on DVD.

What A Month!

Wow, what a month August is turning out to be. I came back from Hawai'i, Panda came up to say hi, my dad turned 60, I turned 23, and school started. Funny thing is this is not even the tip of the iceberg.

Where to begin. . .

Well Hawai'i was a blast. As you can tell from past posting I really enjoyed discovering the other islands, most noteability the island of Moloka'i. I spent my birthday on the island of Lana'i with my dad and brother once again. And my brother and I did something that we have never done before willingly; a five mile hike throughout Poli Poli Springs State Recreation Park. Every time we go to Maui we always seem to discover something new, and this was unlike any other. The entire hike was though a pine, cypress, and redwood forest. If you were to pass out and wake up there, you would swear you were in Tahoe.

So that was Hawai'i, now on to something else; Toph, My self, and Lizzy trip to the Mormon Temple in Sacramento. Now Toph and I saw this as a once in a lifetime chance to see the inside of "the holiest spot on earth," which as many of you know is off limits to non LDS members and even some LDS members as well (LDS being "Latter-day Saints" which is short for "The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" which is long for "Mormons"). Now being Catholic I was expecting crosses everywhere, statues of saints in every corner, and Jesus right in the middle of it all. But to my surprise there was nothing of the sort, to be completely honest it didn't feel like a place of worship at all. Now I know I am being harsh by saying this, but it felt like we were walking into an exclusive country club, membership card required and all. Yet, to be honest, I know Lizzy would feel the same way if she walked into the cathedral in Sacramento. If your reading this Liz, I what you to know that I am honored that you allowed us to join you on that day, and that's the honest truth.

Snakes on a Plane kicked ass!

Let see. . .oh yea! I read in the paper today that the dems and the GOP agreed to increase the minimum wage in California finally. Come Jan. 1st 2007 it will increase by $0.75 to $7.50 an hour. But that's not all! Come Jan. 1st 2008 it will increase another $0.50 to $8.00 an hour, which would make us the top paying state in the nation (pending no other state increases their minimum wage). If your wondering the federal minimum wage is $5.15, the current California minimum wage is $6.75, and Washington state pays the highest minimum wage with $8.63 an hour.

I know I'm forgetting something. Oh, my uncle Bill (who just turned 62 on the 20th) found out that he has Pancreatic and Liver cancer, plus that bad headache he had turned out to be a stroke.

And that is my month so far.

Picachu, Who Killed The Electric Car?

A quick picture of the two electric car re-charging stations at the Galleria in Roseville.

What a busy week. You know after working 40+ right after getting back from vacation makes you feel like you never left. Like the vacation you took never happened. Yet, this past week was fun. I was finally able to see the documentary Who Killed The Electric Car? which was a great story that raises the question "what happened?" If you think about it, the cars were introduced, and then poof! they disappeared off the face of the planet. Sure, they only had a range of 100 miles per charge and you had to plug it in. But with current electric rates they figured out that charging your car was the same as paying $0.60 for a gallon of gas, and to take a line from the movie "The electric car is not for everyone. It can only service about 90% of the population."

Yet, the highlight of my week was going to The Punchline in Sacramento to see my favorite comedian: Mr. Gabriel Iglesias. Now I would usually rant about how funny he was, but I have a better idea.

Here is his 2003 appearance of Comedy Central Presents. Is about a half an hour, but it is well worth it.



Enjoy!

I See You Picachu!

Gabriel Iglesias and I out side of the Punchline in Sacramento. I've never laughed so hard in my life!

A Quick Pic From The Lodge At Koele On The Island Of Lana'i

@ The Luau (Big Island: Week One)

Ok, as a side note I sent this photo to my blog via my cellphone on Friday, July 21st 2006, and it just now got posted. Why the long delay? Who knows.

Nevertheless, from left to right: My uncle Saul (pronounces sA-ull), his nephew Steven (in black), my dad (in red), my brother Robert (the head on my shoulder), and me.

I can't believe that was a week and a half ago. . . where does the time go?

The Final Hawaiian Frontier: Moloka'i Recap

Last Tuesday I got the chance to reach my personal final Hawaiian frontier; I set foot on the island of Moloka'i.

(By the way, that's Maui in the foreground)

After $170 and a hour and a half ferry ride we arrived on the island. We were met with our tour guide "Van" who, in all fairness, was as large as the van he was driving. (We later found out he was recovering from anorexia, well that's what he told us :P ) Our first stop on our guided tour of the island: the Kalaupapa overlook and the sacred phallic rock. Now, instead of boring you with pictures of the lepor colony where a strict quarantine was enforced till 1969, I'm going to show you a picture that I could not resist taking.

Yep, that's my dad, on top of a giant penis. The legend is if you touch the rock you will become pregnant and give birth to a son. I hope for my dads sake that the legend does not come true.

In a nutshell the island was different than the rest. As with all islands, there is a movement associated with them. Oahu is fast paced and bright, the Big island is vast and always renewing, Kaua'i is lush and inviting, Maui is rural and slow, Lana'i is exclusive and warm, and Moloka'i is friendly and leisurely.

We toured the entire island, from one end to the other. We ate a wonderful catered lunch, toured a coffee plantation and a macadamia nut farm. We spent the entire day going from one end of the island to the other, and hopefully next year we will be able to spend a night there. It took me 13 years to reach all the major Hawaiian islands. I wonder what is next?

Happy Late Birthday Panda!

Yesterday was Panda's birthday. She is now the ripe old age of 22. She was my roommate and is still the love of my life. I would do anything for her (and she knows it :P ).

I don't know if you are going to get the chance to read this before you come home but I want you to know that ever since you left you have always been on my mind. You know I love you Panda, and I miss you even more. I would give anything to be with a girl like you. I know your having a blast on your trip, and I am too. There really is nothing like the beauty the Pacific has to offer.

Until we meet again, one of your boys,
Blake

Hawai'i 2006: The Big Island Recap

To be honest our first week was simply a blur. A blur because having never been to the big island, we spent our four days there doing everything we could possibly do. But if there is one thing that I will never forget, and that is the time we spent at Hawai'i Volcano National Park. At first it is like every other National Park you enter, with the generic visitor center and a toll booth and the entrance collecting $10 per car. Yet you drive a little over the hill, and you are blown away by what can best be described as the beautiful sight of ongoing destruction. As you can see in the picture above and below an entire highway was wiped out in a lava flow in 2003 (plus 40% of a coastal town and several million dollar homes)

Now lava in its self is unlike anything I have ever seen. Its entire structure is mostly air, while the rest looks like a very dark glass. Walking on it is very interesting because it crunches and gives slightly, kind of like you are walking on bugs.

Now if you are wondering why they call it the big island, the answer is pretty simple; its over 4,000 square miles in size (roughly the same size of the state of Connecticut). For shits and giggles we decided to drive around the entire island in one day, well that took us 8 hours not counting stops. If you ask me it was a good first week. We went to see the worlds most active volcano, the church where my great-grandparents were married in 1916, I got a chance to tour the Kona Brewing Company's home location, plus I got to add to my pilsner glass collection. All and all I had a blast.

Ok, So Where Are The Bags?

I'm Leaving, On A Jet Plane. . .No Wait. . . Not Yet!

Family Time At The Luau