Zendagi migzara.

Today was the first day of my senior year, but it didn't really feel all that special. In fact, I thought it was slightly underwhelming. Normally, I would be nervous and anxious in bed on the night before the first day of a school year. But not this time; everything has become so routine after four years that I didn't feel excited or worried about going to school. It feels like yesterday that I was a freshman walking around cluelessly with a map of the school in my hands.

I'm quite content with the classes that I have this year. The most disappointing classes for me are my quiet 1st period and 2nd period classes. For the second year in a row, I have Ms. McGrady for English 1st period, and it seems like another year of sitting in a nice, well-behaved classroom. I wish I had an exciting, dynamic class like 2nd period (It's full of stimulating conversation and fun!). But, I have Computer Science 2nd period this year. Today, I think almost ten people showed up to the class! Oh well, I think I'll keep the class because I think I could do homework and relax during that period. It grants me a nice respite from the torture I endured in my classes last year...

I'm very excited to play in Jazz Band and Symphonic Band tomorrow. I missed playing my oboe in a band, and I hope that I've gotten at least a little better over the summer. Sadly, since Connor quit, I'm the only guy in the flute section...again... But on the bright side, I'm playing bari sax in Jazz Band for the very first time tomorrow! I'm excited and nervous about how I will sound; I have to fill some very large and purple shoes. Also, hooray for the scrawniest member of the saxophone section playing the biggest saxophone in Jazz Band!

It's been a little over a week since my bike accident, but my injuries are starting to heal! My face has reformed, save for a couple of pink spots. The skin on my arm is being replaced with newer, better skin. I feel like I'm a lizard man! I still have a couple of deep wounds left though. For some reason, when I'm cold, they turn a shade of lavender, which is slightly disgusting but still very fascinating (The shade of purple is very pretty).

P.S. I always seem to wake up in the middle of the night and find my cat on my bed. Maybe it's scared of the dark or something. I know I would be.


P.P.S. "Zendagi migzara" is Farsi, I think, for "Life goes on." Time and history wait for nobody, and we must do our best to keep up. If we don't, we may find ourselves trapped in our pasts, doomed to repeat our past mistakes forever. Zendagi migzara, and we must follow it and never let go.

No more bikes for a while...

As you all probably know, I kind of had a little accident yesterday. From my epic failure, I epic learned a couple of things:

1. Cars can parallel merge into different lanes, bikes cannot parallel merge onto a sidewalk.
2. Brakes are useful for slowing yourself when you're going too fast.
3. Buy a helmet; wear said helmet.

So basically what happened: I was riding down my hill past Collins on the way to band in the morning, like I normally do. When I got to the bottom, I wanted to go onto the sidewalk. So I drifted toward the dip part of the sidewalk to get on, but I didn't go at a sharp enough angle. Both my wheels got caught in the groove of the sidewalk ramp and my bike capsized to the right. My face hit the ground first and I think I continued to travel several more feet. A lot of things went through my mind at this time including, "How much of my face is missing?" and "How am I going to get to band?". I was scared I was going to end up like this guy.


It all happened so quickly, I was kind of confused and didn't know what to do (especially since I couldn't find my glasses). I was more panicky than I was in actual pain. I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to get to band, but I knew I had to clean myself up. Luckily, there was a pregnant lady who saw me fall (and probably heard me shout several obscenities), and she offered me a ride home. Her husband was even kind enough to wheel my bike back to my house.

I can't get over how lucky I was. When you think about it, the injuries I got could have been much, much worse. I'm very fortunate that I didn't break any bones or hurt my neck or head. Luckily, my sprained left ring finger didn't keep me from playing my saxophone today! Hopefully it'll get better before I'm married and I have to put a ring on it. Sadly, I'm not sure if my right wrist fared better. I doubt I can play badminton with it, unless it gets better (No more smashing for me).

The thing that upset me most wasn't the fact that I was in so much pain. The physical pain was nothing compared to how guilty I felt for letting everyone down. I felt like I let my section down and the entire band down. My dad even had to leave work early because of me. Even the nice couple went out of their way just to help a poor boy who can't even ride a bike correctly. I'm still very much in their debt for their huge favor. Unfortunately, I highly doubt I'll ever meet them again to pay it back. Therefore, if I ever see an injured person on the side of the road, it's my obligation to help them, just as that nice couple helped me out. That way, I'll be able to Pay It Forward (I want to watch this movie someday).



Much to my surprise, I was able to get 1st place in the drill down today, despite being barely able to bend my right knee (I can't even make a fist for Parade Rest!). I hope no one was going easy on me, just because I'm handicapped!

P.S. One of my vacation pictures from Flickr was selected to be used on an online travel guide. See it here! (It's the Chinatown one, with my name):

http://www.schmap.com/boston/sights_outandabout/#p=68361&i=68361_25.jpg

Holding My Thoughts In My Heart.

After three days of marching band, I am happy to say that I am feeling much more comfortable with my section. Though, I must admit that there are times when my mind blanks and I have no idea what I should do next...especially during sectionals. But, I've started talking to my freshmen a bit more. They're already starting to laugh at me and hit me! It's great!

Doing drill downs this year is much more difficult for me because there's so much pressure on me. Everyone expects me to do well (because I'm technically "Drill Master"), when in reality, I can lose just as easily as anyone else. Whenever I do a drill down, my legs shake like crazy; sometimes I feel like I'm about to fall over. I can feel everyone's eyes on me, and I know that a lot of people are wishing for me to mess up.

I also blame my loss today on Yohanna and Denisse! They kept telling me to lose on purpose so that the freshmen wouldn't hate me! I told them that I would mess up on purpose if I made it to the final three, because I've never gotten a 3rd place ribbon before. I think that got to my head and distracted me during the drill down. Sigh...getting 4th place is like a slap to the face (so close, yet so far!!). Oh well, no one really to blame but myself. More reason to do better next week!

I went to the dentist's today, and I didn't contract bacterial endocartitis due to my muscular ventricular septal defect! Woohoo!

P.S. I like how a good piece of music can make me forget about all of my troubles, well, almost.

P.P.S. Today's title comes from the sad and dream-like song in Final Fantasy VII.

Fire is surprisingly hot and water is wet, strangely.

I'm kind of sad that no one seems to blog anymore...I feel like I'm talking to no one! It's like when Amir talks to his Baba (Well, probably not QUITE like that) in The Kite Runner. Which reminds me, I should really be doing homework right now...

Well anyway, today was a very...interesting day. It's my first day of being a section leader, and I already question my teaching credentials (More than I previous did). I think was more nervous than the freshmen that I was coaching because my mouth got very dry, very quickly. I'm not used to raising my voice around people, so this was a big learning experience for myself, as much as it was for the Marching Band rookies. Hopefully with a day of band under my belt, I can be more confident in what I am doing. My biggest fear is that I end up over-complicating things for everyone. I have a tendency to explain things in ways that seem to only make sense to only myself. Half the time, I feel like people have no idea what I'm talking about.

I barely got any sleep last night because I was so excited and nervous about the first day of band. I looked in the mirror a little while ago, and I saw dark rings returning to my eyes. I look like a raccoon, but thankfully, I have large glasses to camouflage my dark secret.

Fun fact: I like to listen to a 17 minute song, just for the minute and a half finale.

P.S. The title is just me being weird.

Am I a butterfly dreaming I'm a man? Or a bowling ball dreaming I'm a plate of sashimi?

Never assume what you see and feel is real!

Gasp! I'm actually writing something for once! And it's only been like three whole weeks since my last post! Luckily, I don't have any coffee in me today, so my writing should make a little more sense.

During the past couple of weeks, I got to play badminton at GGBC. I even got to use the Yonex bag that my aunt bought me from China. It's so cool; it even has every single one of my favorite colors on it (blue, black, gray, and white). The large bag creates the illusion that I'm a much better badminton player than I actually am. I love playing badminton a lot now, but it's a shame that I get tired so easily from playing. I really want to get a new racket, because I feel like it could make a big difference in my playing. And goodness knows that I could use anything to help out my badminton game.

Another strenuous activity that I've been occupying myself with lately is Pokémon Stadium on the N64 at Brian's house. We all like to do competitions with the mini-games, and things can get very intense. During the many days of playing it, we've experienced: foot cramps, flying controllers, sore throats, various swear words, bruises, loss of breath, non-stop yelling, lots of glistening sweat, and at one point the N64 was flipped upside-down. Yes, things may get a little competitive, but I think it's the most fun I've ever had while playing a video game.


Thanks to Schwanka, I finally have a State Alchemist's pocket watch! It's one of the few things that I've ever really, really wanted in my life. It's also one of the very few times that I've gotten something that I've really wanted. Now, I have two pocket watches, but only one real pocket to hold them in. Ah well, I've sort of found a way to keep them both with me. Though, some people might mistake me for some sort of emo child (How dare they!), since I have so many chains. But what can I say? I love clocks...and that's with an "l" (I'm no chicken lover!). I would call myself a "chronophile", but I don't because I know there's no such thing.....Well okay, never mind. I just Googled it, and apparently it IS a real word. I kind of want to start wearing a wristwatch again (For triple the time-telling fun!), but they always get in the way when I play badminton. That's one of the many reasons I like pocket watches more.

I've been getting these headaches for almost an entire week now, and I don't know what to do. I suppose I should be taking some sort of medicine, but I'm just curious as to where these pains are originating from. Also, I've kind of been able to remember some of the dreams I've been having lately. Strangely enough, I've also kind of been having recurring dreams. Though they each weren't exactly the same, they had to do with the same thing, which is odd. I've never had recurring dreams before (Not that I can remember anyway).

P.S. I want to see Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea!

P.P.S. Today's title is a quote from the game Chrono Trigger, one of my favorite games ever. The characters and locales are just so diverse/wacky/insightful/thought-provoking/plain awesome.

WARNING: This was written on a caffeine rush.

So today was free mocha Monday at McDonalds, and I somehow I got my hands on three free cups of iced coffee. I'm having a little trouble typing right now because of all the extra letters that I'm putting. Since I haven't written anything for almost two weeks, I should probably make this entry kind of long. I'll try not to be too boring though...hopefully.

Let's see...the first most important thing that I can think of to talk about is the completion of my personal solo video. It's called "This Past Feeling" because of the song I used and the theme of the video (I'm so creative!). The song, called "This Feeling," is a remix of the First Victory song from the first Phoenix Wright game. I chose the song because it was happy and upbeat, without being too, uh, girly. The second song, "Dear Friends," is from Final Fantasy V and made me think of how far I've come since elementary school. I've made so many dear friends in my life, and I think it all started on that playground, too.

Interesting things about the production of the video: Much tape was used. No, not film tape, but electrical tape. I used it to hold my camera onto various objects found around the set. Having a small camera has some advantages, but lots of tape on a windy day equals a lot of frustration. I'm surprised how durable my camera is; it fell onto cement twice and into a water fountain once. The water fountain actually cleaned the screen of the camera, so I guess that wasn't such a bad thing.

Oh yeah...about the new banner. Um, personally, I think it's pretty. It's a lot more exciting than my previous banners at least. The only thing bad is probably the broken and/or made up Latin that I used. It's probably easy to guess that the first line means "Irreplaceable time flees." But, I had to look up a Latin translation for "like" and came up with "velut". The title is supposed to mean "Irreplaceable time flees like a fantasy," but it probably doesn't. Also, I couldn't find a Latin word for fantasy... Ah well, it looks nice at least.

I've also changed my lifelong goals list to a Final Fantasy progress list. It lists my approximate progress in each game. Hopefully I'll get one of those to 100%! I bought Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls the other day, which is the GBA version of numbers I and II, and I think I angered the game somehow while playing it though. While in a dungeon, I had NINE random encounters in a row. In other words, that's nine battles in nine steps taken. It was incredibly frustrating, yet hilarious at the same time. I think the game's God (aka the Random Number Generator) hates me.

For the past week, I've been watching The Speed Gamers Final Fantasy marathon, which was streamed live. They're a group of college students who played Final Fantasy games for an entire week and raised over $50,000 for autism care and treatment. See? Who says video games are a waste of time? They were even featured on the CBS news. Their next project is a Mega Man marathon starting August 14 for earthday.org. Man, if only we could do this for WE at our school.

I went to Angel Island with my grandpa and my other relatives from China yesterday. We took a ferry from Tiburon, the birthplace of the mountain bike, to get there. Then, we hiked half an hour up steep stairs and winding roads to get to the Immigration Station (Wow! More creative names!). It's the biggest attraction of Angel Island and is where Chinese immigrants were detained and interrogated. In one room, there are almost 100 different poems carved into the wooden wall. Sadly, a lot of it has been painted over and is barely legible. It's still nice to see them in person though...even if I can't read it.


Oh no! My senior picture day is tomorrow! I'm nervous because I'll be getting a haircut right before I get my picture taken. What's so bad about that? Well...I'll be getting a haircut at a place that's not my bathroom for the first time in like a decade. I'm feeling very anxious, but it just might be the caffeine. Hopefully they won't cut it too short; I need long hair to hide my forehead.

It is impossible to predict what the future has in store for any of us.

That is precisely why people feel the need to judge the past.

Ah, this quote makes sense. Since we don't know what lies ahead in the future, we tend to look back at what has already happened to search for some hints. This can cause people to dwell in the past and let it control their futures. I hope I don't let that happen to me.

I hope I am more careful about how I ride my bike in the future as well. I made a man very angry today when I came out of nowhere into the middle of the road. It's my fault for blasting my Phoenix Wright tunes, even if I only had one earphone in. I was more concerned about cars coming down the hill that I completely forgot that there are some cars that actually climb up the hill as well (go figure). If I had ridden onto the road even a couple of seconds later, then he would've probably hit me. I should've realized that my bad hearing would get the best of me someday. I don't think I should be allowed to listen to any sort of music while riding my bike anymore.

Also, about my hearing...for some reason, I have trouble hearing people sometiems, even when they're right in front of me. A lot of times, I'll just smile and nod, pretending to have heard what they said. Usually, this only happens when there's a lot of background noise, like at a party or even at school. Most of the time, I'll go "What?" and/or stick my ear in front of your face. I apologize in advance (and for the past) for when I do this to some of you. Though, I know I've done it to pretty much all of you already. This may also be a result of blasting my jamz too loud.

Now that I think about it, maybe my hearing isn't bad. Perhaps it's just my inability to read lips. In case you already haven't noticed, I have this problem of not looking at the person I'm talking to (unless I feel really comfortable around them, which is rare). I'll usually not look at that person's face and stare off into space. I think the only person who has commented on this about me was...Mr. O'Shea...

P.S. About today's quote...it's from Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations. I'm finally almost done with the game and Godot (the prosecutor) gave this statement, which I found to be a very true reflection of human nature. At least, I think it is. This is Godot...listening to some Phoenix Wright tunes, no doubt.

How far I've come from my childhood home!

There will come a time when my troubles are gone
And when I shall not be all alone—
Till then, I dream of my home, sweet home

Lately, I've been feeling kind of empty inside, like my life lacks a purpose and meaning. I've been feeling like the things I do won't really matter in the long run. I need some sort of motivation to keep me going and doing stuff. Normally, people have a reason to do what they do, or at least have some sort of goal to reach. This must be like some sort of mid-teen crisis.

It seems like I've been losing a lot of things that have been close to me. If Nez isn't going to be there next year pushing me to do my best, who will be? If the school is going to go on strike in the beginning of the year, is there any point in trying to learn this year? A lot of things that used to be a big deal now seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Lately, I've been worrying about where I'm going and how I'm going to get there. I've also been wondering about who will be joining me on the trail through darkness known as the future. Hm, maybe I'm just talkin' crazy talk or maybe the summer heat has gotten to my head. My mind HAS been getting lost in these summer doldrums.

I suppose no matter where I go, I'll always have music to accompany me. I downloaded all three of The Black Mages' albums today. For those of you who don't know, The Black Mages are a Japanese rock band who cover Final Fantasy songs (The composer happens to be the keyboard player). Brian also introduced me to this very pretty song called Flowerdale. It features an all brass ensemble and a solo cornet. The high notes that the cornet hits are just crazy...and very, very pretty.

P.S. I feel obligated now to explain where my titles come from. This one comes from the lyrics from a Final Fantasy V song called "My Home Sweet Home." It tells the story of a boy returning to his hometown after leaving on an adventure for a long time. So basically, the song is all about remembering the memories of the past, after having come a long way into the future.

Here we go now, on the offense.

I should really consider writing more frequently. It's gotten to the point where I only post once a week, and that's not cool at all. I guess I should recount the highlights of the past week, assuming I remember it.

The most depressing thing that happened was, of course, hearing that Nez retired. It was like losing a family member, even though I know I'll still see him. Still, I was surprised how much it saddened me when I found out. I thought about everything that he taught me, and how much I learned to appreciate good music and the lessons that can be learned through simply stopping to listen for the story of a song. We're apparently supposed to write a letter to him full of good, positive words and memories, but I can't seem to think of anything to say that isn't sad.

Progress on my video project is actually going pretty well. I'd say I'm over halfway done. The hardest part is probably choosing a song for it. There are two completely different directions that I can take this video, and I'm not entirely sure which one I should traverse. Maybe I'll just flip a coin, Harvey Dent-style.
As for my little dream project, things could be worse I suppose. I was able to recall a couple of dreams though. I even wrote them down, well, the parts that I could remember. There was one where I was driving an empty bus in the desert by myself, and another dream where I broke an old lady's giant bonsai tree.

Hanging out with friends on Independence Day was fun. I was tempted to call it "Independence From Women Day" since it was all guys. Swimming in Will's pool was painful because it was so freezing cold. My entire body was literally turning purple. We played frisbee in the park by the bay in Hercules, but for some reason, I kept getting distracted by...ah, never mind. It's not important. The fireworks were okay, I guess. I think watching the Disneyland fireworks show over five times has spoiled me. But, once I started listening to some "Star and Stripes Forever" and "The Star-Spangled Banner", the fireworks in Hercules became ten times more interesting and immersive. Being near the bay reminded me of when "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written: in Fort McHenry, on the Chesapeake Bay. The fireworks were reminiscent of the bombs bursting in mid-air, as written by Francis Scott Key.

Having very little Interact experience and having not done anything Interact-related in almost two years, I have been chosen to act as the club's Secretary...of War. I don't know why, but the position of secretary is appealing to me. It's the job in the shadows, which fits what I like to do. And no, that's not stalk people.

Son of a submariner!

I'm officially obsessed with Final Fantasy again. Hopefully I'll be able to finally, FINALLY, beat a game from the series this summer. By the looks of it, I think it'll be VI. I've set the personal goal for myself to beat every single game in the series, well, the ones that matter anyway (that would be numbers one through nine). I still haven't decided whether I want to beat them in numerical order or not. Maybe I'll do that sometime in the far future, when I've beaten them each at least once. A marathon Final Fantasy run sounds kind of fun...considering I lack what some people call "a life."

Speaking of how bored I am, I finally discovered the mind-blowing concept of "lucid dreaming" today. I can't believe no one has told me that this exists! If you've been living under a rock (like I have), then I should let you know that lucid dreaming means you have the ability to control anything that happens in your dream! With practice, you'll be able to do anything you want like fly, talk with your own subconscious, or even live out weeks at a time in your sleep! Bottom line is: you will have more spare time to do anything you want.

Apparently, the first step to harnessing this ability is to remember your dreams. Sadly, this is something that I can never do. So...starting tonight, I'm keeping a journal of my dreams. This is assuming that I can remember them long enough to actually write them down. It's recommended to tape record yourself, but I don't want my mom to think I'm crazy. I probably sound really crazy right now, but I mostly want to see if this actually works. Scientists have proven this concept and people on the internet say they can do it, so why not? They're never wrong!

Even if I can't have lucid dreams, at least I'll be able to have a journal of my dreams. I really want to be able to remember the dreams that I have. Whenever I think back to an event, sometimes I can't even remember if what happened was a dream or reality. Hopefully I'll be able to keep an accurate account of what goes on in my subconscious mind.


I really need a big roll of duct tape. I would tell you why, but it's a secret! But I CAN tell you that I am kind of planning a video that I want to make. I've also come up with a couple of rules for myself, too.

Rule 1: I have to do all filming, editing, and planning by myself.
Rule 2: I can't use a tripod (mostly because I don't have one. Heck, I don't even know if my camera will fit on one).

I enjoy setting limitations for myself, because I like the challenge...either that or I'm a masochist. It also forces me to be a little more creative in how I go about things. This will be my first attempt at filming an actual video, ever. Doing it by myself will be good, I think, because I can learn from my own mistakes. So yeah, this project is pretty much a big test. It'll test: how well I can operate without other people telling me what to do, whether my new editing software works, and what the video quality of my camera looks like. So don't expect it to be an amazing video, since it's really just a test video.

Luckily, I've got myself a couple of tiny notebooks to write down ideas (and maybe dreams?) in. The best part is that they fit in my back pocket! Now that I think about it...I have a feeling that I'll break them if I sit down. Darn...that's how I broke my library card.

Oh man, there's a long story behind this picture. I'll just say that it was very difficult to achieve the angle that I needed. I had to use everything in my pockets, including my DS and a lobster bib.

P.S. I reread my post, and I realize that I make a ton of mistakes. I fixed most of them in this one, but I probably say a lot of things in other posts that make zero sense.

A hole in the heart is preferable to one in the head.

ARGH!!! It's been another week since I've posted anything. It must be due to my Summer Sloth Syndrome. I meant to write something yesterday, but I think the heat waves killed off what little is left of my memory cells.

For me, a summer tradition has been to play Fire Emblem (the 7th one in the series) on the GameBoy Advance. Playing it reminds me of back when I was...uh...let's see...fourteen years old! I still remember coming back from my first day of Marching Band camp with my decrepit school-owned saxophone, downing an entire bottle of Gatorade and then retiring to a game of Fire Emblem. It's hard to believe that it's been three years since I've first played the game. I suppose it's even harder to believe that I never get sick of it! I love starting new files to relive the memories of playing the early levels. It makes me wish that I could start a new file in high school and relive the early years. If that was possible, imagine all of the things I could do differently, having all of the experience that I have now. That's why I like replaying video games; you can make less mistakes on your new file, having made many the first time you played.

Reading Dyana's blog made me realize that my family must not care about tradition at all. Though, my mom DID warn me that Schwanka's parents might not let me go to their house, but I convinced her that she was crazy and I got to go anyway. Sigh, that makes me feel a little bad now. After my grandma died last December, I broke every single rule that Dyana wrote down. Let's see...

-I went to Schwanka's house.
-I invited people to my birthday party.
-I had many fun.
-I ate meat everyday. Heck, the funeral after party had meat! At least, I think it did.
-Oh wait, I don't think I wore anything with animal fur...did I? My memory is so bad...
-I wore a red Santa Hat. Man, that's not fair. That one shouldn't even count.

Though, I guess skipping Christmas for the first time ever balances things out. Maybe? Sigh, probably not. I bet my ancestors look down upon me with much disapproval...like in Mulan.

Man, my entire week has been kind of boring. I guess the most interesting thing that happened was my little visit to the Children's Hospital on Thursday [Crap, I meant to say Wednesday. I lose track of days]. It was funny how much older I was than all of the other patients. It's for kids under 18, and I guess I just made the cut-off. I'm not gonna lie, I was really scared and nervous when I was there. You know, for a while, I had completely forgotten about the blood tests and stuff I had taken back in April. But, they came back to worry me this week.

I normally tell my friends like everything that's going on with me, but this is one of the first things I've actually kept a secret from them. I just didn't wanna worry you guys! Well, I think I was just making Mt. Moon from Diglett's Cave (i.e. getting worked up over nothing). When I was at the hospital, I had to take two different tests: both involved me without a shirt and with cords taped to my body. It was all sorts of awkward. The electrocardiogram lasted all of ten seconds.

I had the coolest doctor. He was Japanese, I think, and he's a CAL graduate! AND, he was in the Marching Band! AND, he said used to carry around a pocket watch just like me! AND, he has tried playing badminton before! Ah, so cool. Anyway...he told me that my electrocardiogram was 99% normal. Then he listened to my heart and told me that since I'm so skinny, he can hear all four valves of my heart opening and closing. Neat.

After that, I had to take an echo cardiogram, which is an ultrasound, more or less. I felt like a pregnant woman. Luckily, I got to watch T.V. while an Indian doctor searched my heart for problems. It took her two Spongebob episodes to find something. Apparently, I have a muscular ventricular septal defect (what a mouthful). It's basically a small hole in my heart, literally. It's nothing to worry about though. The hole is smaller than the name that describes it. The doctor said it won't affect me in anyway, except I probably have to take penicillin before my dentist appointment to prevent the teeny-tiny possibility of a heart infection. He says I can still be in marching band, ride my bike, and play badminton normally! Hooray!

However, I'm still wondering if this explains why I sometimes feel like something is stabbing the tip of my heart. This hasn't happened in a long time (though, remember that my memory has been sucking lately). I just mostly remember this happening when I was younger. Ah, who knows. It could probably just be cramps or something. Or gas, that seems to be the root of a lot of problems for people.

P.S. If you like this, check out my Flickr for more updated pictures!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/intotheair/sets/72157619650182553/

Cross your heart?

I haven't posted for over a week! Again! Well, at least I have an excuse this time. Being two thousand miles away from my computer is a good reason, right? First off, I want to give this. It has pictures from the first two days of my trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/intotheair/sets/72157619650182553/

I also saw Up today! Even though it was of questionable quality and had Russian text, I still loved it. I think it ranks with The Pianist as one of my favorite movies. I really took notice of the music and how it amplified all of the emotions in all of the scenes.. Hmm...if only I could learn how to do that in the videos that I edit.

Quote of the day (which I came up with all by my clever self):

"One shouldn't take directions from a blind man."

Well, in my case, a blind man shouldn't tell another person where to go. I have no idea where I'm going; therefore, I shouldn't direct the path of another. Ah, it makes so much sense!

With Quiet Courage, We Shall Lift Lamps of Courage to guide us through these Shadows of Eternity and Into the Light.

Those are just a few songs that I think can accurately depict the mental image I have of this past school year. Though, I think the one most pertinent to the events that have happened over the course of these ten months is, oddly enough, Shadows of Eternity. As I've described before, that song is all about how life and history repeats itself, and how your world can turn upside down, just when you least expect it. An important lesson that I learned from the song is that where there is light, there will always be shadows cast, but so long as you always travel with a light, you will never get lost in the darkness.


Even though my memory has developed the habit of blocking out the events of the past, I'll try my best to recount what has happened without stating what is not the truth. I think a good place to begin would be marching band camp (Coincidentally, it's also the best place to begin high school). Now that I was a junior, my responsibility in the band had increased and I had to make sure that I set a good example for everyone else. I got to lead the lines in the saxophone section and everything! I even went on to win (tie Robert for first) in the drill down competition. I feel kind of greedy and I'm hoping to win another plaque next year.


I can't say that I was huge fan of the songs that we played this year in marching band. But, I'll go as far as to say that I hated playing China Grove and Oye Como Va. Smooth Criminal was almost just as repetitive as those two. I think the only songs that I really enjoyed were Crosstown Traffic and Conga. I really hope the saxophones get better parts in the songs for next year. If we don't, then I really don't have anyone to blame except for myself, since I'm a section leader now.

Once school started, life really began to go down the toilet. All of my classes looked innocent enough, but little did I know, I would be trapped in their suffocating grasp for nine months. Let's take a look at some interesting points from each period:

A period - Jazz Ensemble: What a way to start the morning. Blues scales that I didn't even know, and I still don't know. Solos that I was terrible at doing and is the main reason I switched to bari sax. Music that didn't make sense to me half of the time. It was an entirely different band. Jazz is a form of music in which the player has to read in between the lines. If you're like me, then you'll simply play what's written; no more, no less. That, however, is completely wrong. There's a style to jazz that I still need to figure out for myself. I'm a senior next year, and there's still so much to learn. When I think of the beginning of the year, I think of the song Take the "A" Train. It just embodies the feeling of starting new in Jazz Band for me. When I think of the song, I still get filled with that same feeling of cluelessness that I had in the beginning of the year. However, I'm glad that I was finally able to play my solo in Dance to the Music correctly by the end of the year, even if it wasn't in front of an audience.

1st period - English 3, Honors: Ahh...I remember doing the entire summer assignment the day before school started. I think that may have been the start of our study groups (and I use the term loosely). Despite having a lot of work, I still liked the class because Ms. McGrady made all of the books we read interesting. My favorite book from the class was probably The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Night by Elie Wiesel. Also, please ignore the fact that those were the two shortest books that we read. We also watched several movies that I thought were really good like The Pianist and Life Is Beautiful. Sigh, it's such a shame that we couldn't finish Life Is Beautiful, but I think I can say that The Pianist is one of my favorite movies. I'm not sure why exactly, but there's something about it that I really like. It's just different from every single movie that I've seen before.


2nd period - Pre-Calculus, Honors: Oh my goodness, here's where the day starts to get a little depressing. I like Mr. Sanders as a person; I mean, we have the same taste in music, but it's almost safe to say that I didn't learn anything math related from him all year. Well, that's probably not all entirely true, but it's pretty darn close. He does have some cool pieces of technology in his class though, like his school bus yellow calculators and his projector along with his Mac. I still want to ask him for his library of music...

3rd period - U.S. History, AP: I loved this class because Mr. Wilson never made it boring. I just feel really guilty because I feel like I could have done so much better if I wasn't so lazy. If I had read the book or done the study guides by myself, maybe I could've gotten a grade better than the A- I maintained all year. In this class especially, I felt the year speed by quickly. One moment, we were fighting for representation in Parliament, the next we're protecting the world from Nazi Germany. Before I knew it, John F. Kennedy had been assassinated and Bill Clinton had created NAFTA. Mr. Wilson is such a great teacher; I feel really sorry for anyone who doesn't ever get the privilege of being taught by him.

4th period - Symphonic Band: Ah, my favorite class of the day. I know it's my favorite because I am never unhappy to go to it. We played a lot of good songs this year: upbeat ones like Percussion Espagnole and more serious ones like Jupiter. However, the one that everyone loved was Into the Light. It's one of the most beautiful and memorable songs that I've ever played in my life (With Quiet Courage being one of the others). I think I've mentioned before how the oboe solo in Into the Light is like the bridge between the slow beginning of the song and the rush to the end. To me, that represents the bridge between junior year and senior year in high school. I'm at that bridge now, and just like when I'm playing the song, I have to make sure that I take a deep breath before I cross.

5th period - Biology, AP: This class would have been really depressing if I was awake for more than 50% of it. I tried my best in the beginning of the year. No, honestly, I did. But, once we changed seats and annoying Jeannie was no longer an option, things got really boring, really fast. Since I was sleeping for most of the year, I don't have much to write about this class. I did pull off an A for the 2nd semester, so I guess you could say that I can get A's in my sleep.


6th period - Spanish 3: This class was such a big joke, I don't even feel like talking about it. Though, I really liked this period because of our little band corner. We used our combined strength to cheat on tests and projects, skip class, and do pretty much whatever we wanted! Also, let it be known that I forgot more Spanish than I actually learned this year.

Now that classes are done, how about some of the extracurricular activities that I did this year? I joined a lot of new ones this year, and continued the old ones. Badminton was more or less the same. Being my third year on the team, I got used to losing...a lot. I should really find some time to practice over the summer. At least I had a lot more friends in badminton this year! I remember I only really talked to two people on the team when I was a freshman.

A club that I joined recently this year was WE, but I feel bad for not being a more active member. Hopefully next year I can do something worthwhile for the club. I like the T-shirt though!

JSA...what is there to say about it? I went to all of the conventions this year, so I guess that makes me an active member. The conventions are fun, as long as I can stay awake...without the assistance of coffee and coffee flavored energy drinks. Sigh, I still don't think that caffeine is out of my system yet.

I guess that would bring us to Film Club. For some odd reason, I became the Secretary of the club. Though, I guess that fits my personality the most since I'm more of a behind-the-scenes guy. I've also found my niche as an editor and I've "successfully" edited two whole videos for Film Club this year! Yayyy. I hope I'll do more next year, especially with the new software I got today (assuming it'll actually work). I also hope that I haven't single-handedly jeopardized my entire summer project...

Of course, one of the biggest highlights of the year was going to Disneyland. It was so much fun hanging out with [almost] all of my best friends at the happiest place on Earth. Performing with Jazz Band was such a blast and recording with Symphonic Band was so cool. It would be fun to do that for a living. However, I think the funnest thing I did was ride with Nez and other band kids on Tower of Terror, California Screamin', and Space Mountain


This year, I started blogging and taking pictures. They serve as outlets for my, er, "creativity." I blog because it's more worthwhile than simply talking to myself all of the time. Before I blogged, I found myself having conversations in my head at the end of the day about random things. I take pictures so I can look at things in ways that I normally can't see them. Hopefully, I can expand my picture repertoire to things outside of, well, random stacks of stuff.


This year, for me, has truly been the paragon of opposites and cycles. While I've made a lot of new friends, I've slowly stopped talking to a lot of my old friends (especially the ones that wear black all of the time). The year ended almost the same as how it began: I found myself at Red Onion with the guys, gathered there for almost the same reason both times. The bond between us guys has certainly grown very strong this year. Every single one of us had/has our own different problem, and we all do what we can to help each other out (whether we like it or not). Our study groups are a time to talk about things that are on our minds and play video games. It's like therapy and a bunch of teenage boys are the psychiatrists. The Magnificent Seven; each individual is a symbol of either Courage, Friendship, Love, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, and Hope.

For this past year, "Change" seems to have been the theme for the rest of the world, too. In a lot of ways, I know I've changed a lot from the beginning of the year. I've become much more mature, but at times, I feel like I act the same as I did when I was a sophomore. I try to act more responsible, but I sometimes end up screwing everything up in the end. I want to become more social, but my self-consciousness gets the better of me.

Cycles, up and down, like and love, black and white, open and closed. How can things be so different, yet so similar? Why does history repeat itself? Why do things fall apart just as they reach their highest point? Though I've traveled a thousand miles, why have I not moved an inch? These are questions that have popped up this year, and though I don't have any answers, perhaps things will become clearer during senior year.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

I feel like such garbage right now, and I just want to sleep, but I want to write my 99th post tonight. That way, I can reserve my 100th post for my big annual end-of-the-school-year reflection. Sigh, this year's might be tough. Now let's see...what interesting things have happened this week, well, the ones I'm allowed to talk about anyway.

We took finals this Monday and Tuesday and I did poorly in almost all of them. Much to my surprise however, I managed to scrape by with A's in History and Biology. I already know I have high A's in English and Spanish, so I just need to worry about Math now. Sigh, the Math final was open book, and I still wasn't able to finish it even though I had three days to do it. Maybe Mr. Sanders will cut me some slack, just out of favoritism.

We performed two graduations today, but I got sad when I realized that it was my last year ever playing Pomp and Circumstance and Music For a Ceremony. I think for most of us, playing "Into the Light" was the highlight of our nights (Wow, lots of rhyming). That song really IS powerful; I had goosebumps like the entire time. I'm also glad that I didn't mess up solo. That's always nice.

For some reason, I've been getting these massive headaches and stomach aches lately. I've also had a loss of appetite at home and at school, too. I'm afraid that I'm going to lose weight...I'm already falling under 110 pounds! Sigh, oh well. I just feel like sleeping right now...I can't think straight. I think I should stop before I start writing even more nonsense.

So now we fly ever free, we're free before the thunderstorm.

On towards the wilderness, our quest carries on.

Hmm...two blogs in one day. I must REALLY be bored. Though, I really do need to write something, since I haven't in a couple of days. And, so many exciting things have happened during that time gap! Now...where to begin?

...great, I can't even remember what happened on Thursday. I really think I was dropped on my head when I was a child, because I forget the most recent things, but I remember the most random things from a long time ago. Let me think...hmm...I THINK we got yearbooks on Thursday. Yeah, that's right, and they're terrible! Well, they're actually alright; they just have like a million mistakes. They misplaced the Jazz Band picture...twice. They mixed up the Homecoming float winners (I bet they're just mad that the Juniors won). Students and teachers were put into the wrong sections and club photos were swapped. Heck, some didn't even show up at all! Haha, ahh...Forensics.... Well, the only reason I ever buy yearbooks is for people to sign them, but I'm always too shy to ask anyone to sign mine, so I usually don't end up with much writing (Haha, but this year is different already!).

Let's see...yesterday, I went to the Walk-Out Rally for the first time ever, but I kind of regret it. The bleachers are surprisingly uncomfortable without Marching Band pants and everyone around me was screaming about how much they hated everything. Though, I did like that runner showing off his speed and agility in front of the school. The giant mob of people on top of the field at the end was interesting though; I never knew that happened at the rally. I kind of stayed off to the side and watched everyone attacking and hugging each other. And then, I started looking down and at the field and started feeling sad because I realized that I only get one more year to march on it.

Afterward, I went to Happy Sashimi and then met a security guard that convinced me that benches are meant to be looked at and not sat on. Then, I went to Daniel's house to film our project. If I recall correctly, it involved me wearing a Pokémon hat at one point and playing with a slinky...slinkie...?

After that exciting episode, we mosied on down to the school listen to the seniors perform at the Senior Recital for Conservatory. Just listening to them made me nervous for my turn next year. I'm already pretty sure I know what I'm doing and it's fairly, uh, challenging. I just need to get those 32nd notes down...and find a way to not be so nervous all the time when June 2010 rolls around. Sadly, I'm sure that time will creep up behind me way before I realize it.

Finally! About today! I awoke early this morning in order to prepare for my US History Subject test, which was to be administered at Oakland High School. However, there was an unforeseen obstacle that arose in the form of a malfunctioning electric pencil sharpener. Luckily, my mom was able to conjure a hand pencil sharpener, seemingly out of thin air. It was in the shape of a train, but since it was made in China, it didn't work very well, but at least it was able to get the graphite out of the wood.

And with that, I was off. Back to whence my father came! Er, at least, back to where my dad graduated high school. The test was hard; maybe it's because I didn't eat enough, or maybe I didn't get enough sleep. Anyway, after the test, Tony and I roamed about the three floors of the school. He discovered that there's light switch in the bathroom and decided to turn it off as we left, leaving two unfortunate boys in the dark...literally.


Once we got back to Pinole, I had myself a little bike adventure. I rode from Hercules to Fernandez Park to Collins to Red Onion to Tony's house to Daniel's house and then back to my house finally. I'm guessing that I rode about four or five miles today. This includes the dozens of times I had to ride up and down Canyon Drive for filming. On the way back home, I pulled a muscle in my leg and I could barely bend it at all. I think I started whimpering like a little sissy boy. Now, my legs feel like jelly...and my fingers are tired.

Tomorrow, I have to work on editing our video and maybe if I have time I'll find a way to install new video editing software! Hopefully without crashing my computer! And without contracting a virus! I'm using a lot of exclamation points, and I didn't even drink any coffee today!! I feel like I could write a lot more, but my fingers are getting tired from typing. Gosh, why must my thoughts be constantly stifled by my weak fingers?!

This gets its own post because it's so freaking long.

I'll write something more interesting and more normal later.

[Stolen from Dyana]

LAST

Person you got mad at?
-I don't get mad at other people, just frustrated. The only person I get mad at is myself.

Person that got mad at you?
-If anyone, it'd be my mom...or Nez...

Thing you put in your mouth?
-My finger.

Thing you said out loud?
-I have no idea...I almost never talk at home.

Song you heard?
-"Star Wars ~ Main Theme" Yeah...I've been listening to a lot of John Williams lately.

Time your heart was broken?
-Umm... I guess you could say nine months ago.

Nickname you were given?
-"Hobo" by random children at the park.

Time you worked so hard you thought you were going to die?
-Pedaling up the hill to my house.

Time you fell in love?
-Eight months ago?

Text you got?
-Random spam.

Text you sent?
-I don't text on my phone.

Wish you made on a star?
-Probably for life to stop being so confusing.

WHO

Do you love?
-Andrea and all my other best friends.

Do you hate?
-People who make the world bad.

Can you never live without?
-Anyone; just because someone else isn't with you anymore, doesn't mean your life should have to come to halt. Though, if we were to get technical, it'd be border patrol because they keep Canada from invading us.

Frustrates you the most?
-People who just don't listen.

Would you take a bullet for?
-I'm not sure what would stop the shooter from just shooting the both of us...

Can make you laugh even if youre about to cry?
-Tony, I'm pretty sure.

WHAT

Did you do last night?
-Did some filming and went to the Senior Recital at school.

Will you do tonight?
-Mess around with new software and practice my recital piece!

Were you doing three months ago?
-My memory is terrible, I have no idea...

Is your ringtone?
-The best one, it goes "bzzz...bzzz..."

Would you never do, even for a billion dollars?
-A lot of things, like kill myself.

Was the last injury you got?
-Probably that bruise from when Tony fell on me.

Are you wearing?
-A white T-shirt that says "Year of the Rat" and some shorts...I like mice.

Is wrong right now?
-I can barely stand up..my legs are so tired.

Should you be doing?
-Hmm...nothing really. Practicing my oboe, I suppose.

WHERE

Are you?
-In front of my computer, next to my bed, in the loft known as my room.

Is the person you like?
-Hmm...I actually have no idea.

Do you live?
-2900 Pinole Valley Road...hehehe...

Do you wish you lived?
-I love where I live right now.

Is your place in the world?
-Anywhere where I can be myself and I'm with people that actually don't think I don't have a mental retardation.

Do you feel most comfortable?
-Around friends who are easy to talk to.

Will you never go again?
-Uhh...my relatives' apartment in China because it doesn't exist anymore.

WHY

Are you taking this survey?
-I really have nothing to do, and I'm curious to see what I have to say about these questions.

Is the world so corrupt?
-People give into temptation.

Is the sky blue?
-An amazing artist colored it that way, but had to use a pencil for the skies above China's cities.

HOW

Are you feeling right now?
-My stomach and legs ache. My mind is racing with thoughts, as usual.

Long can you hold your breath?
-Not very long, I'm sure. Well, it was 1'30", but I decided to stop before I passed out.

Much time do you waste on facebook?
-Only a couple of minutes everyday.

Is your heart?
-Not sure...I still haven't found out the results to that blood test.

Far would you travel for the one you love?
-As far as my weak, little body will take.

Would you like to spend all of your time?
-Doing things that I love, with the people I love, and I having a good time...which I love.

SPELL YOUR NAME

Without any vowels?
-Bryn. It's almost the same!

Backwards?
-Nayrb. I think someone named an Animal Crossing city this before.

HAVE YOU EVER

[x]played Spin the Bottle?
-It ended with me licking various parts of a table.


[ ]toilet Papered someone’s house
-That would be such a waste of paper.


[ ]played Poker with money
-I've played strip poker with a bunch of guys, though.


[x]been tickled so hard you couldn’t talk
-Yeah, plenty of times...just not lately.


[x]liked someone but never told them
-Some things are better left unsaid, I suppose.


[]went camping
-The bugs! The bugs!


[]had a crush on your brother’s friend
-I probably would if I did have a brother.


[x]walked in the rain without an umbrella
-Not fun.


[x]told a joke that nobody thought was funny
-Like everyday.


[]been in a talent show
-I'm not talented enough, and I don't do well in front of an audience.


[x]worn somthing your mom didn’t appove of

[ ]been to a nude beach

[ ]drank jack daniels

[ ]cursed in a church
-I've haven't been to a church at all...except Chinese school.


[x]burnt yourself with a curling iron/straightner
-It was a regular clothes iron, at a Disneyland hotel. I was wondering why it wasn't hot.


[]wanted to be a police officer

[]dumped someone

[x]been hit on by someone too old
-Yeah, but they're always guys...


[]wanted to be a model

[]bought lottery tickets

[]made out in a car

[x]cried during a movie
-They're always Pokémon movies.

[x]wanted something you couldn’t have
-A Wii...


[x]seen someone shoplift

[]hung up on someone

[x]yelled at your pet
-I think my hamster bit me once.


[]gotten seasick

[x]played a prank on someone that had them really scared
-I think I scared Schwanka when I dropped "my phone" and Brian stepped on it.


[x]been embarrassed by someone in your family

[]felt bad about eating meat

[]protested

[x]been to an island

[x]been in love

[x]ate just because you were bored

[]screamed in a library

[x]been dumped

[x]wished a part of you was different

[x]asked a guy to dance

[]been asked out by a really hot guy

[x]laughed so hard you cried

[]went up to a complete stranger and started talking

[]been sunburned

[]kicked a guy in the nuts for being a pervert

[]threw up in school

[]received an anonymous love letter

[x]had to wear something you hated

[x]cursed in front of your parents
-Only when I was little, and it was because my sister tricked me.


[]watched a movie that made you miss your ex

[x]been out of the country

[x]been honked at when you were walking down the sidewalk

[]went on a diet

[/]been cheated on
-Kind of...


[]been attacked by seagulls

[]been searched in an airport

[x]been on a plane

[x]been pantsed
-Makes me glad that I only took one year of P.E.


[x]thrown a shoe at someone

[x] broke someone’s heart

[x]sung in the shower

[]bought something way too expensive

[x]done something really stupid that you still laugh about later
-Remember when I almost died while climbing on the roof? Ahh...good times...


[x]been walked in on when you were dressing
-I really need doors for my room.


[]been kicked out of the mall
-I've just been followed around by mall police.

[x]been mean to someone then instantly wanted to take it back

[x]been given a detention
-I can't even remember for what, though.


[]fell off your roof
-I've never tried climbing my roof before...


[]pretended you were scared so you could cuddle up with someone
-Nope, I was really scared when I was walking with Will and Lauren from Lorena's house.


[]had a deer jump in front of your car

[]threatened someone with a water gun



CAN YOU



[/]Unwrap a starburst with your tounge
-I cheated, though.


[]sing

[]open your eyes underwater

[]eat whatever you want and not have to worry

[/]ice skate
-I kind of learned this year!


[]sing in front of a crowd

[x]whistle

[x]be a bitch at times
-I guess you could put it that way.


[]do thirty pull ups

[]walk in really high heels
-I've tried; it's really hard.


[]eat super spicy foods
-I've tried; I found out I can't.


[]skateboard
-I've tried; the skateboard flew under a car.


[x]sleep with the lights on

[x]mulititask

[]touch your nose with your tounge

[]fall asleep easily in the car

[]do the cotton eye joe

[]play ddr and not fall

[]surf

[]fit in your locker

[]do a split

[]taste the difference between pepsi and coke

Okay, I apparently can't do anything. I'm Asian, and I am terrible at DDR. I'm also too tall to fit into a locker. Sigh, it makes me sad; it's something I've always wanted to do. The spacing got all messed up, but I don't want to fix it...three times is too much for me.

We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days.

Through the fire and the flames we carry on.

Sigh, I wasn't planning on writing anything tonight, but seeing as how I have found myself doing nothing and talking to nobody, I figured there must be SOMETHING I could write about.

...

...

Well, there's this raccoon that comes to my backyard now and steals my cat's food. There's even a fox that runs across the backyard occasionally. Speaking of stolen food, apparently my cat ate my dad's lunch yesterday. I guess it just jumped on the dinner table when nobody was looking and just started eating. No wonder it's so fat.

Also, for like the first time that I can remember, I did not eat any meat today. I ate cereal for breakfast. I had to skip lunch again (I haven't eaten lunch since Monday). And, I ate potato salad and regular salad at home. Sigh, I feel like such a rabbit. I should set a weight goal for myself to reach before the summer ends. Say...120 pounds?

I guess there was something kind of special that happened today. Ruth passed the tuner's torch to me for next year's Symphonic Band. That means I should probably keep a tuner with me from now on, to make sure I don't screw up the entire band. I like it when everyone tunes to me, though. It means that I don't have to worry about myself being out of tune with everyone...usually.

Like, Love.

At what point does the line between the two blur, and how do you know when you're trapped in the space in the middle? Where does one end and the other begin? If the Chinese use the same character for both words, how do you know when someone is talking about like and when someone is talking about love? There are few things in the world that I can think of that are so very confusing like, love.

Just something that I started wondering when looking at my charm thing.

Listen and learn. It is time for prancing.

Now we are here for Caramell Dancing.

I just finished eating my dinner (Froot Loops) and now I feel like writing a blog to make up for yesterday. I got home at about 11:00 PM last night, and I didn't even feel like taking a shower. I think I smelled like a crazy white person by that time. So, I just read for two hours, until I finally finished Redwall. Gosh, that's like my favorite book; I think I want to reread the entire series this summer.

Anyway, yesterday was pretty uneventful for me. I just went to lessons, went to Daniel's house, and went to a benefit concert. You know, same old, same old. I went to Daniel's house to plan out our service learning project, but we pretty much accomplished nothing. Ah...reminds me of the good ol' days. Though, he and I had some nice manly conversations on the way to Fernandez Park; talking about our feelings and such.

The concert was pretty cool, though. I got to hear Tony's band perform live, but the best band there was A Class Act, obviously. I hope I can play bari as well as Zach someday, and at least look half as cool doing it, too. The craziest part of the concert was mosh pit in the middle. People were just pushing and punching everyone that touched them. Tony made me go in, and in the midst of the frenzy, I found myself on his back. I guess I overestimated his strength because within seconds, I ended up on the ground, with him on top of me. Parts of my body still ache. I touched so many big sweaty men last night; I feel so unclean right now.

There was also this big Asian bodyguard that kept checking me out from the second I got there. I was just minding my own business when suddenly I feel an arm around my shoulder. It felt rather large, so I was about to say, "Tony, I already gave you a hug. What else do you want?" But it turned out to be that big Asian guy! I was kind of alone, so no one would have heard my screams of terror. He asked me if I had a sister that went to UC Davis; I said yeah. And then he said, "So that must mean you're Bryan." I agreed again, and he asked me about my band life. After the interrogation was over, he left, and I was kind of scared for the rest of the night. I guess my sister and I really do look exactly alike.

All in all, the night was fun. The music was cool and left my ears ringing until the morning. It was hilarious watching people get dragged into the mosh pit against their will. It was even funner getting carried military-style by Mohid and Will through the middle. Tony even picked me up in his arms and used me as a battering ram through the crowd. Reminds me of freshmen year when we used that technique to get to 4th period Mr. Laird's class on time.

Today was pretty boring, like most Sundays have been lately. I was just stuck home alone like usual, and I took the liberty of uploading my blooper reel onto YouTube. Um, here's the video, for all of you curious cats out there:

Into the Air.

Like the new banner? I think it's better than the last one.

Anyway, I think I should take the time to explain the meaning behind the url of my Flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/intotheair/
(Not a shameless plug.)

First and foremost: "Into the Air," by Timothy Mahr, was the song I was listening to when I was making my account. Second of all, one of the things that I love doing the most is taking walks by myself and listening to music (even though I don't get to do it that often). Listening to uplifting songs with chords that just shout triumph, victory, and feelings of ascension. For me, there's nothing quite like a powerful song to bring me Up when I'm feeling down. The feeling I get when I listen to music and look up into the air, watching trees rustle in the breeze, is just unmatched by anything else. So, if I happen to be listening to music and I start staring at the sky, don't be alarmed! I'm not asleep! I haven't turned into a zombie! I'm just probably lost in my own far-off world; mostly likely reminiscing of ages long since washed away in the river of time and pondering the mysteries hidden deep within the dark shadows of future's uncertainties.