Memory #2

After a Saturday filled with boredom and family/self-induced mega stress I sought sanity in an old refuge MVP, otherwise known as Moon Valley Park. Armed with a sheet to lie on, my iPod, a book to read and a birthday card to write, I picked a familiar spot of grass near an old pine tree.

My stress wasn’t immediately subdued because minutes after setting up my arrangement, a makeshift baseball game of screaming young boys commenced a mere 20 feet away.

Fortunately my iPod rescued me, tuning out the adolescent fair vs. unfair arguments of the game, but I found myself put off again very quickly at the sight of trio of high-school-aged girls “parking it” across the way.

Who do they think they are taking up the sacred practice of The Friends of years gone by, I thought. But a second later I was flooded with the memories of some of my all-time-favorite days.

Junior year of high school my friends and I began spending our weekend days and often after-school hours doing homework, writing songs and just hanging out at the park. We deemed ourselves The Parkies and, in my mind, became pretty infamous.

Spring in Moon Valley never felt as magical as it did surrounded by my friends on that brittle dry grass when passing those hours struggling to figure out life, futures, relationships and AP U.S. History.

Here are some of my fondest:

- Westside wars with Sarkis
- The ambush by Jimmy following the stroking incident
- The drafting of “Overflow”
- Monsoon frog finding
- River rock peace sign construction

To the friends: What are yours?

He wasn't named "Most Likely to be a Comedian" for nothing

In the past couple days Jimmy has come up with some good funnies…

---While watching a car ever-so-slowly change move into a turn lane:

“How are there so many horrible drivers… I mean they’re practicing all day long?”

---7:03 a.m. at an airport in Idaho (via text message)

“Bluetooths are quite possibly the most advanced science in the art of doucheness”

For all intents and purposes...

is the correct way to say this phrase. Not "for all intensive purposes" like I have neively thought and used for over 15 years now. HA.

I wonder how many people have felt so embarassed for me that they couldn't muster up the guts to correct me. I make my living off using words correctly... how do I screw these things up so often?

I've Got to be Starting Somethin'

I can be creative and funny. Usually I'm the only one who appreciates these attributes of mine, but last Friday, I believe, I was not alone.

The NextStudent Web Marketing Department used to be an unpredictable and somewhat chaotic work environment complete with Nerf gun bullets whizzing past your face at any moment, Google beach balls barreling down on your desk and random outbursts of horribly catchy 80s tunes or Hanson songs. For a number of reasons, the mood in the office has been, let's just say, deflated as of late.

I thought it was time to inject some of that old NextStudent Web Marketing flair back into our days, so last Friday I proposed that we have Michael Jackson Fridays where the day's work of promoting student loans would be interspersed with MJ tunes at the most random and inappropriate of moments, and possibly some one-hand glove wearing.

Being the quirky and hilarious Web Marketing bunch that we are, my suggestion spawned a feisty brainstorm session, which resulted in our conclusion that every Friday would be themed Friday and it would be the responsibility of a new team member each week to pick the theme.

The day's creative responsibilities include coming up with: a song for the day, an appropriately themed prop (ie: pirate eye patch), and a word-for-the-day (non-theme-related) that will be used Pee-Wee Herman style.

Needless to say, this Friday will be an interesting one in the NextStudent Web Marketing world.

Memory #1

New Series Warning:

I am going to attempt to implement a new weekly post, starting with this one…

My iPod has been broken for about a year now and by broken I mean it isn’t recognized by my computer when I plug it in, so I can’t add or delete any songs. Thus I am left with the same songs that I’ve had on it since my sophomore year of college.

This is a disclaimer, but let me make it clear that I’m not ashamed to say that I used to listen to New Found Glory and I’m not even embarrassed to admit that I still listen when a song pops up on the pod now and there.

“Broken Sound” off their Nothing Gold Can Stay album came on this afternoon when I was at work. I can’t listen to this song without flashing back to the good ole’ BJ Yhetti days; my memory was flooded with an image of Jocie hunched over with her Slash-like hair hanging lifelessly in front of her face while the slow, sad intro to this song would stream out of her peach-colored Danelectro.

It was a running joke, and a partially true statement, that whenever Joss played this song we would say “Oh Joss must be sad” and then laugh when she got pissed that we said it again. It was as if the song was a musical representation of her emotions, just like when that fricken’ old tiny keyboard of the Johnson’s would project the moods of the “hypothetical retarded/mute Teta character” by playing “Ode to Joy.”

I know this is all very inside jokey, but I hope the friends appreciate it.

In case this little anecdote didn’t do it for you, maybe this will.

Something Smells Fishy

Less than 24 hours later, I'm already down one fish. Bully white: 1, Silver Dollar: 0

The game of life using Monopoly money?!

New five

The Stress of Piano Playing Takes its Toll

I’ve been teaching my five-year-old cousin Molly how to play simple songs on the piano. Admittedly she is my favorite little cousin, and according to a very funny story from my aunt, she “really likes” me too and thinks I’m “really pretty.”

But besides her being one of the cutest damn kids I’ve ever seen, which is a big deal for me to say keeping in mind my genetic predisposition for being anti-children, she is the strongest (no kidding she’s got a six-pack) and most naturally musically talented child I’ve ever come across.

In a matter of minutes she picks up a song on the piano, all I have to do is play the song a few times and guide her through rough parts by pointing at the correct next note above her fingers as she plays.

What is most impressive to me is when she turns away from the piano for a minute, her hand goes right back to the correct octave on the keyboard she has been playing at. And she clearly has a natural ear for music because she will figure out the note progression and rhythm of the rest of a song if I don’t finish teaching her or without really going over that part of the song in detail with her.

Her repertoire currently includes:

“The Barney Song”
"Happy Birthday”
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
“Old McDonald Had a Farm”

Sunday we had another little piano instruction session at the birthday party for Melissa, her mom. After teaching her the latest tune, “Old McDonald” she turned to me, leaned back on the piano bench and in all serious said… “Oh I’m kinda sweaty.”

It was pretty much the funniest damn thing I’ve ever heard a kid say.

She kept on trucking though and played “Happy Birthday” from the other room while we sang along. A very proud moment for me.

My latest obsession

Dented (Physically), Bruised (Mentally)

I got in a car accident.

It was not my fault.

No one was cited.

I have no front bumper.

I am $500 poorer.

I am angry.

Barfness?

Best quote from Christian on Project Runway yet.

Gosh, does it ever end?

Do we ever really figure out who we are? If we do, then how do we get there and if we do get there then will we know it when it happens?

The moment I feel like I've made some headway I find myself lost at the next corner.

Is that just how it's supposed to go? Are the people who claim to know who they are just convincing themselves that they're right?

I hate issues like this; I don't even know why I'm writing about it.

Get Out and Vote

This is the second presidential primary I have been old enough to vote in. I didn't vote the last Super Tuesday. There are no excuses for me or for anyone else who didn't cast their ballot and there shouldn't be this year especially.

I'm not a very political person; I don't know enough about the climate to claim to be a political person, but I do know enough about the state of our nation just by living it every day and neither you nor anyone else can deny that it isn't the best state our country has ever seen.

I'm getting tired of hearing the word "change" but the fact is that this time next year we will not have the same president and we will not have the same administration and we will not be in the same place we are today.

You can't transform the past, but you can help dictate the future.

Forget excuses. Forget laziness.

Get out and vote today.


And if you're still making up your mind about a candidate, maybe this will help.

After the Storm