Head West: A Spontaneous Road Trip

Hey dudes, hope your week has been going well.

First a little Christmas recap. This year, Christmas was simple, low-key and fun, at my house just the way I like it pretty much. I got lots o' moolah which is always useful and we had our hot pot dinner. I gorged myself on lamb and shrimp and promptly went into a food coma afterwards. Cousin A, my cousin on my dad's side of the family, got me an iPad which is extraordinarily generous albeit unecessary but nobody in their right mind would say no. Thing is, I'm worried I'm going to either lose it, break it or both at school so my mom is now the owner of the new toy. I want to get myself a Kindle Fire after Amazon updates the software in a few months anyways. I set it up for her and now all she's been doing is playing spider solitaire, Bejewled and watching Brothers and Sisters on Netflix in her spare time. I really need to get her more apps that will actually put the thing to good use though. That piece of tech has so much potential it would be shame not to use all of what it can give y'know? This year I ended up forgoing the jewlery or roses which I've done for the past few years and instead gave her and my aunt gift certificates for a mani/pedi at a local spa so they can go together some time. She seemed to enjoy it, so hopefully she'll find some time to use it.

A few days after Christmas, I had a quick reunion with my friend Mad and Christine who I've been hanging out with for a few days now. Maria is out of the country visiting family so I haven't seen her yet unfortunately. We got lunch at Noodles and Co and caught up on school, life, guys and such. I also got myself some peppermint bark from Mad as a belated gift which was pretty sick. I also finally got a long overdue haircut.



Overall, break has been pretty low-key and chill. Good stuff.

*          *          *          *          *

A little while ago I wrote a post called "Head West" which you can read here here where I wrote about how I wanted to drive into the unknown and escape from the familiar. I've always wanted to do something spontaneous; mysteries are always thrilling for me. Well, this morning, with no real plans for the day, I decided to act on impulse, so I decided to go for a nice long drive out west.

I left home around 1 this afternoon and started out west. I jumped on 66-West towards Front Royal, a sleeply little town by the Shennandoah Valley, which ultimately was my final destination. I hadn't gone to the Appalachians since I was in elementary school for whatever reason so I forgot just how different Virginia gets outside of the DC metro area. First, where I'm from, the landscape is as flat as board so it was fun to be reminded that the state actually has some different geographical features.

Look Ma, weather eroded Ordovician-period rock formations!

It took an hour or so to reach Front Royal but the scenery entertained me enough. Hills with derelict grain silos, the occasional tractor on a side-road and sleepy country shops dotted the highway. It wasn't anything truly special, considering you could see mostly the same scenery accross most of the semi-rural US but it was a nice change from the congested roads and high-rises of home. After an hour, I finally reached the town of Front Royal...and promptly missed the exit because I'm a dumbass I was too thrilled by the landscape. I got off at the next, even smaller town named Chester-something which didn't even have a stoplight and looped my way back around. Eventually I found myself in Front Royal and decided to take a break and stretch at a local shopping center. There, I saw two things that got me a little too excited because they are things I hate to love but do anyways because I'm a a southern boy on the inside - A Cracker Barrel and A Wal-Mart Supercenter.

I pissed myself out of chicken-n-dumplings happiness

I don't like admitting it but Cracker Barrel, despite how common it is in most of the American South, is a place that I love a little too much. It's heavy, dense, massive-portioned Southern goodness that I imagine what eating a hug from grandma would feel like. We have none of these within a reasonable distance from my home or school so finding one makes be a little too excited.
In the same place was a Wal-Mart Supercenter which I haven't seen since I last drove down to Florida a few years ago. I swore that you would only find these in the South and midwest but I guess I was wrong. It was really funny walking in because A. I was dressed better than almost everyone there and B. I was the only Asian person for probably a 20 mile radius so I got some funny looks. The people of the area are nothing like the crowd from where I grew up; lots more camo, hunting gear and redneck goodness than I'm used to to say the least. Also, there are a lot more pickup trucks.

Afterwards I ended up driving downtown which was pretty much how I pictured a mountain town would look like. Lot's of older, wooden buildings and also a really cool building with a bunch of old painted ads on the side; I saw one for Coca-Cola and another for something like "Benson's Seltzer - Take for Headaches" which I thoght was really cool. The building looked like it used to be part of a row of buildings since it also had some bricked-up windows on the sides but now only short more modern buildings flank it. What was really cool though was going down East Main Street which was still all decorated for the holidays and lined with these really old fashioned brick buildings which made it feel like I was going back a few decades in time. The traffic was too stop and go for me to get a good picture though.

By 4 or so, I started heading back which was fun for a few reasons. First was seeing this car in front of me...

It had a huge pair of silver balls

...and also the fact that rural roads let me go so much faster when driving. Usually I'm stuck topping around 70 or so because of police and traffic but out there, it was clear roads so straight I couldn't help but indulge my right foot a little.

And that was just cruising speed.

I also played leapfrog with this SUV from Georgia who kept passing me and then me passing him when we had ot change lanes because of a slower driver in the lane. It was a little too fun probably but the roads were straight and I was paying attention. I ended up getting back a good bit quicker than when I was going over. In the end, I drove a total of about 150 miles and finished my trip with a clear head. I think it would be pretty cool to do something like that again some time and maybe go into Maryland or south instead of west.

I've been wanting to just go for a drive for the heck of it and I was glad I finally did. It cleared my head, gave me something to do and I got to explore somewhere I haven't been to before. I look forward to doing it again some time.

Enjoy your weekend!

All the best,

JP

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone.

I hope you have a great day full of laughter with those you love.



Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Live on Letterman, 2011

All the best,

JP

Christmas Traditions

Being a first-generation child of an immigrant family, I got to experience many things my parents and even a few of my cousins never were able to for at least some substantial portion of their lives. One of these things is celebrating Christmas.

First and foremost, they way we celebrate Christmas in my house isn't for the same reasons as many other do. Since we aren't a religious family, Christmas always meant something different. For us, Christmas was about family, food, gift giving and listening to Mariah Carey belt to "All I Want for Christmas is You" on the radio. Of course, many other families celebrate Christmas for the same reasons we do, but often it is in conjunction with some religious background like the birth of Jesus and the like. What my parents tried to do was to provide as "authentic" of an America experience for me as possible, and that meant Christmas was high on the list.

Since I'm an only child, I will admit to having a spoiled Christmas experience when it comes to my life as a whole. For example, when I was 15, I had an obsession with guitar even though I had never played one in my entire life. I begged for an electric guitar and I got one, it was a gift from my aunts. Well, long story short, let's just say it never really left the box and today still sits in the basement. In the four years since that day, my love for guitar has waned and the only use I see for it is to maybe mount it on the wall as some decorative piece of art but that I feel would just be wrong and the music gods will strike me down for a. quitting the violin after six years and b. degrading what is a really nice instrument. As the years have passed however, I've gotten harder to shop for and the pair of shoes, sweater, video game or whatnot that would have been perfect four or five years ago now has simply become money in the red envelopes most Asians would be familiar with.

You might be thinking, "JP, are you honestly complaining about getting money!?", to which I respond, not, not really. Yes, it's practical, it's always gets the job done and it gives me the freedom to buy whatever I would like but there's something missing. One of my favorite Christmas day traditions from when I was little was being able to rip open boxes covered in wrapping paper and solving the mystery of what was hiding inside the colourful packages underneath the tree for the past week. It felt magical in the way I think only small children and those who still feel like a kid on the inside could understand.

While presents always did play a starring role on Christmas day, it was always the family dinner that I looked forward to. Apart from Thanksgiving, Christmas was and still is one of the few opportunities I have to see most of my family at one time. We either stay home with my mom and aunts all cooking something as we all sit at the big dining table or we go out to a restaurant together. Even though Christmas dinner isn't nearly as lengthy, boisterous or grand compared to Thanksgiving, I almost like it more since it was so casual and comfortable. This year we're staying in and having dinner at home. We're doing hot pot which looks something like this:

Yummmm

Basically, there's a pot of boiling stock in the middle and you take raw meat, veggies, seafood, whathaveyou and cook it in the boiling broth. Then you fish it out, dip it in a sauce and eat it. It's a very communal, winter specific style of dining which is really fun to try if you ever get the chance. We've been doing this for the past few years and is one of my favorite Christmas traditions that I look forward to once I'm on winter break.

Last year, I also wanted to try something new so I got a gingerbread house kit that I built with my mom. It turned out pretty nice so this year I got another one, this time a Christmas tree gingerbread kit that I finished tonight. It turned out better than I expected. It's takes some time to build and it's repetitive but it's surprisingly relaxing which is why I think I like it so much (this might also explain why I like vacuuming and cooking). I'm hoping to turn this gingerbread thing into a tradition too.

Success!

With Christmas only a few days away, I still have lots of shopping and baking to do. Being broke for the most part, I'm making bacon shortbread cookies with chocolate ganache for my friends instead of buying gifts. If you think bacon on a backed good sounds gross, I dare you to try something like it and say that afterwards. Bacon+anything is delicious...just sayin'.

What kind of traditions do you/your family have for Christmas?

All the best,

JP

Sexy Nerds

I've explained my love of nerdy, dorky guys before and well, I've found a video that pretty much exemplifies every single fantasy I've ever had...

Best line from this video?

I be sexy strippin'
while he be JavaScriptin'.
We can read science fiction
while we make science friction.

Jonny McGovern - Sexy Nerd

I know, those guys have bodies like no nerd, or for that matter many people I've ever seen, but that doesn't mean they're not out there ;)

Jonny McGovern, you're a genius.

**I've added a contact email on the sidebar in case you would like to contact me personally for whatever reason**

Video: Party Rockin in Pyongyang

Okay, so maybe this isn't completely appropriate right now but I get the feeling there are few Kim Jong-Il sympathizers out there.



I guess the beloved leader partied a little too hard Saturday

JP

Winter Break

Woo Hoo! I'm finally done with finals. Overall they went okay but I'm still nervous about getting the results and seeing the final grades for all my classes. I know I got a B+ in my Intro to German class and an A- on my final so I'm really happy about that. I don't want to know my grades in my other classes though, they're pretty much all hanging on how I did on the finals.

After I finished my last final Friday I had dinner with Liz and our friend Ann who is leaving at the end of the semester. I promised her lamb curry freshman year and I finally came through on that promise and we had our final dinner together. I wish we could have had a more fun last gathering but since finals were still in full swing we had to keep it low key.

Saturday I spent a day getting ready to go home. I did loads of laundry and cleaned up the room a bit. That night, I had a trip to the White House with the LGBT resource center which was actually pretty cool. There was a lottery about three weeks ago which I won so I was one of the 20 people to be lucky enough to go. At the event, I saw a few people I knew including one guy who I didn't know I was gay, we'll call him Joe. He's involved in theatre and is friends with some of my other friends so I knew him through association beforehand. He's really tall, has blond/brown hair and is on the slim/fit side. We chatted in the hotel lobby and then during the tour of the White House itself (there were so many Christmas trees....like at least two per room). The tour was self guided with some people explaining unique decorations and such...overall, pretty nice. On the way back me and Joe shared a cab and I suggested that we should hang out some time after break which he agreed to. He's kinda dorky, cute and not typically the kind of guy I'm attracted to but hey, let's see where this goes.

Now that I'm finally home, I'm so happy to have my car, a kitchen and familiar surroundings back around me. My mom and I put up the Christmas lights outside the house and did general errands like going to Costco and stuff, and despite how banal that sounds, I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. Tomorrow I plan to hit up some of my favorite restaurants and see some friends who I haven't seen since the Summer so nothing too exciting. Pretty much, I'm just happy to be home.

I have some opinion pieces/topical posts in the work so look for them to be posted soon.

All the best,

JP

Procrastination Chronicles #4

Serving Size: 12 Gummy Bears

Hah! Serving sizes are for losers. Go big or go home.

Yeah, I'm slowly going insane.

Procrastination Chronicles #3

I have my first final tomorrow and then at least one every day after that. I wish finals would at least take me out to dinner and a movie before it fucks me. How rude of it.

I'm at that point right now where I'm kinda terrified/feel totally unprepared and also really wanting to just go home and run away from it all.

Things I'm missing hardcore right now:

My Dog

Home Cooked Chinese Food

My Friends

...and my mom (no, not in any way representative of her in real life. I just found it hilarious)

Ugh, less than a week until this hell is done...at least until May.

JP

Procrastination Chronicles #2

Evening MBAs need to get those sticks out of their pretentious asses. You're fucking evening MBAs and we have just as much of a right to this building as you do.You have no right to tell us to be quiet when 1. we got to the room first, 2. you were being just as loud 5 minutes ago and 3. When you were obvioculy not exactly "doing work" five seconds ago.

Get your inflated egos and stinky food out of this room.

Assholes.

Procrastination Chronicles #1

What I like to think

The reality of it all

Make it stop >.<

To All My Hokies Out There

My thoughts and prayers are with you all this evening. I have too many friends there to not feel affected by this tragedy. Stay Strong.
Much love to you all

JP

Brace Yourselves...

...Finals are here.
Today was my last day of classes and that means that it's less than a week until finals begin. My first final is next Tuesday and then I have one every day until Thursday which I have a double Managerial Accounting and German final. I'm just trying to take things one day at a time right now. I have a study schedule set up for the rest of this week and the weekend and I'm ready with coffee and snacks in tow. I even bought a new mattress pad so I can sleep better; my bed feels like a cloud now. Hopefully I can stick to this schedule and it will pay off but in the mean time, I'm probably going to be MIA for the rest of the week so I apologize ahead of time.

It feels like this semester went by much more quickly than last semester. I think it's because I know my place, have my friends and all that stuff so the days didn't feel nearly as long as they did before. It's nice but also bittersweet because that means an entire semester of my college life is done. I love it here so much that I want it to last and right now I feel that before I know it, I'll be graduating and leaving into the real world which I really don't want to do. Is it bad to say I want to stay being a kid for the rest of my life?

In other news, I've been hired to be publicity director for one of the theatre group's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which has been pretty cool overall. It definitely feels different than the student-written one-acts festival I worked on earlier this year but I have high hopes for it. I went to a design run and saw the first half of it or so and it is hilarious so I can't wait for the final product. I also got hired to do publicity for the department's production of Macbeth come spring which I'm looking forward to.

I've also been promoted to Grill Tender in the grilling club I'm a part of this past week. This gets me one step closer to the Grill Master position I'm trying to reach by the end of the semester this coming spring. The new board just got sworn in at this past week's anniversary party. The club's been called such a bro fest but I actually kind of like it; the people are really cool and what guy doesn't like grilled meat?

Alright, so since I'll be out for probably at least another week, save for the occasion where I feel the need to blog as a means to procrastinate, I've done some internet searching to keep things kinda interesting here.

Here's some songs, videos and other interesting things.


Breathe Carolina - Blackout


Science Rocks


10 points for understanding this.

And finally, the photo I have on the sidebar is kinda out of season so I'm changing it. Yay!

Stay warm and enjoy your weekend.

All the best,

JP

Video: It's Time

Beautiful

Playing Straight

So apart from telling my mom a few years ago, I have yet to come out to my family, and once again this year at Thanksgiving, I got a wonderful reminder of this from my cousins J and N. These two guys, my elders by about 10 years, are the two golden boys of the family (with me being the admitted rising third in family lore). They have made names of themselves at their jobs, make shit tons of money ($100K+ each) but still have not punched out any kids yet. Luckily, my aunts still think I'm young enough to not have to pester about getting a girlfriend but I can feel it coming like Lindsey Lohan can feel her next parole violation coming. Back on point though, Thanksgiving is the one time of year I get to hear J and N talk girls non stop for about 4 hours straight while I eat and awkwardly get pulled into conversation. This year however, I got pulled into conversation more than I was expecting, and I learned quite a few things about myself by bluffing my way through all the questions.

My kind of girl apparently...don't hate, Mila is hot as hell. (but more on that in a bit)

Here's a recap with all the fantastic terminology intact:

-I like girls for their legs rather than their ass or tits, but if I had to choose a second, I would take tits

-I much prefer brunettes but blonds aren't out of the question (mostly true in real life)

-I like preppy girls. not slutty and totally bangable Eastern European chicks

-I lost my virginity to a brunette (false, dirty blond) girl (false, boy) who was shorter than me (false, taller), had medium tits (N/A), was skinnier than me (false, but I'm on the skinny side), and was a "7" (I'll say True).

-I occasionally like sluts (I can be a slut myself at times)

-Mila Kunis is my type of Hollywood girl (She is hot a fuck though, I won't deny that one bit)


So yeah, fun stuff. I never knew I liked all these things but apparently I do. Granted I did have plenty of opportunities to say I was gay (including J saying how being gay is just fine in his books once during conversation) but I'd rather save that for another day. My cousins must have the worst gaydar ever.

I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving if you're from the states. I'll catch  on more stuff soon, but right now my priority is to punch out a paper for that Personal Identity class that I love hate with the deepest passions of my heart. Before I go though, can I say the movie Immortals is SICK. Me and a few of my Friends had a bros night out and saw the movie and it was so cool. Yeah, the ratings sucked but I can't say no to 1. Movies with a basis in Greek mythology, 2. violence and gore, 3. epic battle scenes, and 4. Kellan Lutz and Henry Cavill ('nuff said). If you're into movies like that like I am, I highly recommend it.

Yes.

Also, another really hot guy, Grant Gustin, the guy who plays Sebastian, the new gay guy after Blaine on Glee is so freaking pretty it hurts. He needs more airtime. now.

Double yes.

Alright guys, enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'll try and get a full update on what's been going on in my life soonish. I promise.

All the best,

JP

Thanksgiving

Yikes, so first off, sorry for not posting in over a week. Professors have been trying to cram in as much crap before Thanksgiving break as possible so I haven't had time to post anything or catch up on the blogs I follow.

But....just because I've been busy doesn't mean things haven't been interesting. On the contrary, things have been really going crazy including how there is a guy in my life now....

But until I find actual time to write a legitimate post, I'll leave you with the best Thanksgiving wishes from me to you.

All the best,

JP

Pantsless

So I spent the better part of last night at a Grilling Society party with no pants on....and tonight, I'm going "bowling with the gays" on a University Pride organized group bowling trip...

...I plan on owning all of them hehehehe.

Actually having free time leads to such good life choices.

Also, I kinda like Jessie J's new single...it's a little too Katy Perry ish for my tastes but still quite catchy.


Jessie J - Domino

On another note, I had a dream all about Mark last night and not to get me wrong, it was a great dream but I'm baffled as to why he would feature as the "lead role" in one of my dreams at this time. I woke up this morning with a very strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, kind of a mix of confusion and nostalgia. I'm probably looking too deeply into it as I often do...

Any inputs and thoughts?

Also, I've been looking for some new workout songs. I've been cycling through essentially the same playlist for the past month and a half and I'm starting to get bored. I like newer music (post 2004) and something that I can blast and keep my energy up when running/erging/lifting etc. All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Plase excuse my extravagant use of ellipses and the word "also" in this post, I really didn't feel like thinking of other transition words.

Have a great weekend,

JP

I'm in Like with a Boy

Help, I think I've Fallen in Like with a Guy...



....and worse yet, he's actually gay and there's a glimmer of hope that things have the possibility of working out if the stars align.

#gayboyproblems
#help
#youreamazingandiwantyoubutidontknowifyourereadyforarelationshipornot

that last one totally would have been rejected by Twitter...

JP

Fuck This Shit

Royally screwed over by that MicroEcon midterm. And by "royally screwed" I mean I want to cry right now because I'm so fucking frustrated.

I studied for five hours a night for almost a week and none of the time and effort I put into it was worth it. Why the hell does my school take Microeconomics so seriously? It's supposed to be the joke basic-knowledge shit you take just because you need to fulfill some Liberal Arts requirement. I should have just taken it over the summer at my local State school and transferred the credit. Literally, it would have been the easiest "A" I ever would have received.

That point-buffer I built up from my first midterm is the only thing saving me right now.

An Open Letter: R

Another installment of the "An Open Letter" series...

R,

You really need to get a grip on the world around you. I don't think you realize this right now but the path you're on isn't going to lead you to anything good. First is your obsession to Jackass X who I've written about on this blog before; I don't know if it's because you're craving some power figure to cling on to or just because you're trying to use him to your own advantage, but you need to realize that he isn't on your side. He makes fun of you blatantly to your face but you're so blinded by your love and faith in this guy that you don't even realize it. He's a jerk, and you're starting to show his influence on you. You're lying, exaggerating to near hyperbolic levels and being the guy that no one likes, the same guy you were making fun of just a few months ago. Your obsession with trying to gain status is also approaching unbearable levels. Stop trying to get chummy with people just because you got the idea that they will nominate you for some award later on. What happened to you? You used to be such a nice, calm, collected guy. I liked you as a friend because we were similar for the most part, but now, I don't even know what to think. You're becoming uncomfortably desperate, and it shows.

You need to end this obsession with trying to get others to like you. I don't know if it's because you've been around Jackass X too much or because of some other weird issue you've been dealing with lately. We're all your friends, and we don't want to lose you over stupid reasons. Please, just chill out. I don't know who you think is watching you every minute of every day that you're trying to impress but I can guarantee that the reward is not nearly worth the work you're putting into keeping up this act.

Just talk to us, we're your friends and we'll listen no matter what.

JP

Delilah

You know that you're in need of comfort when you listen to The Delilah Show on the radio while doing homework...

Funny thing is, listening to her show is sort of a calming thing for me since I grew up listening to her on 97.1 WASH-FM during those night time car rides between my mom and dad's house. She was like some invisible aunt who was always calm, collected and had that comforting "everything will be okay" voice that made my problems disappear. Well, now that it's midterms time coupled with the stress of keeping my shit together with clubs and such, I'm actually kind of glad to be listening to her and the sappy love songs she plays.

Cheers to you, Aunt Delilah, keeping this now college student sane since the mid-nineties.

JP

www.delilah.com

Q&A Answers

-Do you think you would accept a life partner right now if the right guy showed up or do you want more experience?
 -I don't know honestly. If by "right now" you mean that someone comes out of nowhere and I am infatuated with him I would say no because I know things and relationships at this point in my life are so fleeting. I would say that if I do meet someone and we end up dating for a while (a couple of years "a while") then maybe. That's a bit far in the future, I still haven't had a boyfriend yet so I'll take things one step at a time haha.


-Any trustworthy friends at university you can confide in?
-I do have a few friends I do confide in at school. My go-to will always be my friend Maria even though she goes to school in a different state. Here in D.C. though, I have a small group I can talk to. My friend Jackie is very friendly, open and understanding so I confide a fair amount of things to her. Same goes for her roommate and our mutual friend Kate. I also have my friend Liz who I am very close with and have talked to about many things in the past.


-Favourite exercise?
-I'm a big erg fan. It's more of a love-hate relationship because it kicks my ass every time I use it but that's because I make it a purpose to make my erg workout on the tough side. It's probably the one biggest take away from my rowing days. Plus, I'm one of the few people who actually know how to use it which is nice.

What course do you do and what job are you intending to grab later on after it?
-I'm in the business school at my university so as of now, I'm taking Managerial Accounting and Management and Organizational Behavior. During my freshman year I took Financial Accounting, International Business and Operations and Info Management. I've also been fulfilling my Liberal Arts requirements (Psych, Sociology, English, Philosophy, Theology etc) and I'm taking German right now as well. Starting next semester/next school year, my courses will be focused on my majors which I think will be Finance and International Business with a possible minor in Psychology or Sociology. I have to declare by the end of my Spring semester so I need to decide quick haha.

Where'd the blog name come from/ howd you pick up french?
-I started French in middle school and took it until the end of the high school, so about 5 years. I started this blog back when I was still in high school and I thought a French title would be kinda fun and quirky. The title translates to "A Complicated Life" which I think reflects my life as a gay student trying to figure out his place in the world.

Do you play any games ?
-I don't know if you mean like video games or sports but I do a little of both. I'm a sucker for older games so I still play Pokémon online (the original red/blue and yellow versions) and stuff on my GameCube like Super Smash Brothers Melee, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Kart and Soul Calibur.
Occasionally I'll dive into FPS games like Halo or Call of Duty.

As for sports, I tried out sculling this past summer and I plan to get a permit to scull over the summer from the local boat house. Otherwise, I enjoy rock climbing, bowling (it's a sport!) and I want to try out archery again.

Thanks for the questions guys. If you have any more please ask away.

If you're on the East Coast, stay warm and stay safe. We're getting a few flurries here in DC but I know those of you a little further from the coast are supposed to be getting quite a bit of the white stuff.

All the best,

JP

Philosophy Classes

Philosophy Courses suck. Just thought that I should throw that out there. I'm pretty people who end up majoring in philosophy end up being philosophy professors themselves and thus it's just a circular, self-perpetuating system that perpetuates a subject that just won't die like some creepy ass cockroach.

Sure, some find it interesting, but I, for better or worse, am not one of those people. Will I ever apply the meaning of Diotyma's Ladder of Love from Plato's Symposium or what Chisholm, Hume, Locke, Shoemaker or whoever else had way too much time on their hands think about personal identity in real life? No. Sure, I could whip out a random fact at some party but that would instantly label me as the official party douche so even if I really, really wanted to, which I never will if I haven't been clear enough so far, I would stop myself from ruining the perfectly happy and probably drunken elated state of my friends with worthless ponderings.

For those who plan on becoming philosophy majors or are philosophy majors, hey, more power to you, but for me, I'd rather be taking something relevant to what actually matters to me rather than be required to take classes that either a. bore me to death, b. frustrate me, or c. make me wonder why someone would provide an answer to a question that never needed to be asked in the first place.

GAH!

JP

P.S. - Thanks for the questions, I'll be answering them in a post soon, I promise.

Ask Me Anything

So I've realized I've never really done anything that truly let you guys, the readers, gain a little more insight as to who I am. Sure, I've done a few "About Me" posts and I can only imagine the conclusions you've drawn about me through reading my digital scribblings, but I want to know what you've possibly wondered about me.


Musical Non-sequitor alert! Nada Surf - Blonde on Blonde (Listen to it, it's a good song)

Well, that is going to change. I want you guys to ask me some questions. Anything and everything is up for grabs, including, but not limited to things about my personal life, what I like and don't like and my future plans.

I want to make this blog more fun so in the comments section leave your questions and I'll answer them in the near future.

Surprise me and tickle my mind with just how creative you can be.

Let's see what you've got,

JP

Note: I won't compromise the confidentiality of anyone mentioned in this blog including myself so other than that, you're good to go.

Scary Shit

And hell week numbers two and three have begun. I have a German paper due, my German midterm, my Management and Organizational Behavior midterm, my Philosophy midterm and my second Managerial Accounting midterm in the next 10 days.

Plus, now with the last theater festival I was working on done, I have to dive head first into doing publicity for the next show- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Auditions begin in two weeks and guess who will be designing the flyers and organizing shit all over again? This fella.

Fucking A, someone get me an IV and hook it up to an espresso maker, it's going to be a rough couple of days.

How do you deal with stress?

All the best,

JP

It's not you, it's me

I've been in the emergency room twice in the past day, not for myself, but because of others. Today, to say the least, will be a memorable one, and not necessarily for the best reasons. I got up at 6:45 after a call from my aunt telling me my mom was hospitalized after having chest pains the night prior. It terrified me and I was with her until almost 4PM at that point. She's okay now and has been discharged from the hospital but things still left me rather shaken up.

Tonight was the "End of Show" party for the theater production I've been doing publicity for. Things were fun for the most part; it was crowded, hot and full of unwarranted affection (both friendly and less appropriate) but tonight will probably go down in my memory, or at least in this written form, as the night I got my first true rejection in a long while. Dorky-cute theater freshman and I had to call campus emergency medical services on a girl after the party tonight. She had wayyy to much to drink, was stumbling everywhere and we had to essentially carry her back to her dorm. By the time we got there, I made to decision to call the med service on her to get them to check her out. In the end, they took her to the ER where she is passed out tonight. While me and dorky cute freshman were waiting for her in the waiting room, we got to talking. Things quickly turned to our love lives and what we've done, if we'd had met people on campus and more in general.

During our talks, I had the slightest feeling of hope, the slightest feeling that maybe, just maybe, me and him had a connection. Maybe it was the many looks we exchanged or just how comfortable the conversation was between us; it was amazing. Then I learned two facts, that creeper guy from my previous posts that won't leave me alone was trying to get with him, and that he had the hots for the roommate of a guy who has been hitting on me but just really isn't my type. He talked about how they were both really shy around each other and how he thinks the roommate likes him back and it was cute and uncomfortable at the same time. We also talked about creeper and I kept telling him I felt that something was off about him (which I do feel honestly). We kinda volleyed back and forth conversation for about half a hour until finally, one of the med service people came up to us.

We were told that we could go back to our rooms and that our friend would be okay, we got to talking on the way back. I told him he should try out for the next play we were putting on while he tried to figure out what song he would use. The topic of creeper came back up and eventually he said that I really should tell him what I'd been withholding from him whether or now it had to do with creeper. At this point, the dialog went almost movie like.

As we approached his dorm, I finally eeped out what I had been holding in the whole time.

"I really don't want things to be awkward"

"Why, what do you mean?"

"Dorky cute freshman, you're really cute and sweet, and I kinda like you"

"I'm really flattered JP, but I just don't feel the same way in that sense about our friendship"

"I know" I said, bummed

We hugged at this point and we parted ways to go back to our respective dorms.

Needless to say, it hurt. I had been hoping, after this long night of helping a drunken freshman girl back to her dorm, calling in an ambulance and medical services to her and waiting in an ER for almost an hour would produce some good, but in the end it didn't work out quite that way. Needless to say, words cannot convey the level of emotion that was present when we exchanged those brief sentences but it was really nerveracking for me. I hoped something amazing would come out of this, but alas, the world just had different plans.

That's actually a lie though, if I didn't turn back and decide to help dorky-cute freshman bring the drunken friend back to her dorm (and by that I mean carry), she very well could have ended up being in very, very bad shape. You know what, maybe that's just how things were meant to turn out. Maybe me and dorky-cute freshman were just not meant to be. What matters in the end us that in spite of all my petty personal problems, someone I cared about was safe and sound in the end. Maybe I'll get karma point for this, who knows.

Man, I never realized how much rejection actually hurts. I get the distinct impression that right now, at this very moment at 4:48 AM, I still am not realizing or feeling the full extent of this pain, that tomorrow morning, I will understand things more. I'm tired, still kinda of drunk and honestly disillusioned from everything that transpired today. I really should have gone to bed a hour ago but I really wanted to get this down before I fell asleep.

Dorky-cute freshman was a really nice guy, sure, I will probably end up seeing him around campus in the future but I guess he'll always be special in a strange way. He wasn't my first rejection, but something about what happened tonight will make this memorable. I definitely want to stay friends with him, he's a wonderful guy and I truly hope we will stay in touch even after the show ends. I just wonder now how long it will take for me to get over him.

All the best,

JP

Memories

Sometimes I wonder how things would be different if I had the courage to say what I wanted to say way back when. Thing like,
"I really like you, Southern, I really like you"

"You really shouldn't be with him, you're better than that and deserve someone who appreciates that"

"Stop trying to be someone you're not, that mask you're wearing isn't making you feel any better, and it's hurting you"

"Matt, Je t'aime"

"Your support made me into the man I am today, thank you"

"You really will change the world, whether you know it or not, you're destined to do great things and touch more lives than you will ever be able to count"

"No."

I guess I will never be able to find out what could have been. Going through life is like working your way back up a family tree, every five seconds reaching another fork, having to decide which way to go, each path taking you into radically different worlds. The power of words has never been fully appreciated I think. It still shocks me how a simple word of encouragement or denial can change how one sees the world. Maybe one day I will get that second chance to say what I wanted to all those years ago and see what could have been and maybe still can be.

Be bold, be proud, and live in the here and now; you never know what the future has in store for you. Live each day as if it were your last.

All the best,

JP

Rant

Sorry, it's time to rant. It's been far too long since I've had some way to express the hidden frustrations I've been harbouring so here we go.

-begin rant-

You're a douche, I thought you should know that. I don't give a fuck that your father is some high up in a major corporation or that you fly around the world every few weeks. I don't care about your thoughts or views on a subject you obviously don't have any expertise in let alone any relevant link to. I don't care that you've met J Lo, P Diddy, Tiger Woods or whoever else. Your blatant disrespect towards others and need to go against the grain just for the sake of going against the grain is not appreciated just like your need to slam doors whenever you leave a room. You honestly don't deserve so many of the things that have been given to you. You don't deserve the amount of tolerance we've been giving to you and your your mannerisms; if it were me, you would have been kicked out of the group last fall.

One day you will get everything that the world has waiting for you in one sweep. I hope it knocks you off your perch and leaves you dazed and confused because you've had it coming to you for far too long, and let's face it, karma is a bitch.

-end rant-

Sorry I haven't been writing much lately. Midterms are here and I've been just filled to the brim with work. Once Columbus day weekend rolls around I'll be better and I'll start trying to write more regularly.

All the best,

JP

Leave Me Alone!

The guy I hooked up with last night won't stop texting me and it's really starting to annoy me. I don't need a constant stream of texts asking what I'm up to, what my plans are for the night and descriptions of how you're obviously horny.  I have work, I have a life, and I have responsibilities. Worse yet, this has been going on since I gave him my number a week ago. He's seriously acting like a lost puppy right now just following me via my phone wanting to know every detail of my life. I don't want to tell him to back off but I feel I'll probably have to soon if this keeps up.

I get it if you want to hook up again, but it's no fun if you're doing it every day. Yes, I'm looking for a relationship, but you, sir, are not the kind of guy I'm interested in. Also, as long as I'm looking and have people in my sights (aka adorkable freshman from theatre and this other freshman from the grilling club I'm in), I'd rather have spontaneous hot hookups rather than banal regular ones. I mean, I don't know about you but meeting a really hot guy and then find out you're hitting it off with him is pretty sick, whatever happens afterwards is just icing on the cake.

Yes, it does feel nice to be wanted, but sometimes that goes overboard like this situation is currently spiraling towards.

Damn, I can't believe I'm saying this but I don't want a fuck buddy. I won't be a slave to my dick, at least most of the time....

All the best,

JP

My Saturday

-Up at 10-Breakfast, the dining hall actually had halfway decent food!?
-Did some microeconomics homework
-Bought a corkscrew on Amazon
-Went to the gym for an hour, set a new record 15 minute piece pace for myself - 2:02.1/500m.
-Production Staff meeting for the theatre production I'm doing publicity for, boring as ever
-Ordered dinner in with my friend Jacki, we watch The Princess and the Frog on Netflix while we eat
-Work until 11PM, I finish German and start laying the groundwork for my Philosophy paper
-Watch SNL with friends at another dorm
-Guy whose been trying to meet up me texts me, my roommate is out
-We mess around for a while and then he leaves
-I realize I have two massive hickies
-I text all my close female friends to find concealer, I have so many meetings tomorrow
-My friend Jacki teases me nonstop about this and then tells me she doesn't have any concealer
-My friend Eun texts back saying she does have some
-Get grilled about who it was, I refuse to answer
-Work on Philosophy paper some more
-Now I'm in bed.

Yeah, essentially this past week has been my hell week but now I'm finally free (sorta) but this upcoming week also looks to be pretty bad. Welcome back to school eh?

Oh, and belated hooray for the end of DADT!

All the best,

JP

Video: Coming Out in the Military

This is probably the sweetest thing I've seen in weeks. This soldier is calling home to come out to his dad.

This guy just earned champ status in my books.

Cradle Robber

I was voted most likley to be a cradle robber this year by a group of my friends. Funny thing is, I do have my eyes on a freshman who's in the theater production I'm doing publicity for. He's cute, kinda dorky and fun to talk to. We'll see where this goes.....

Sad thing is, German and Managerial Accounting have been eating up so much of my time I don't even know if I'll have enough of a social life in the near future to even make something happen. Ugh. Anyways, doesn't the fact that I'm younger than MANY of the freshmen make the whole cradle-robber label null and void?

Lol #2

From my friend Maria's Tumblr


Gentlemen, I expect the same.

Fighting Myself

Was there not enough pain and frustration the first time round that I seem to unconsciously feel the need to seek the one feeling I dread the most? It's been over a year now. Over a year since I began my college life where people, many of whom are now my friends, first entered my life and exposed me to a world with levels of acheivement and brilliance that I never once thought were possible apart from in a work of fiction....

It's the ludicrous levels of imagination, such profound creativity and deep, analytical thought that the trivial squeaks about the topic of the day pouring out of my mouth seem more like baby babble rather than coherent thoughts. There are people, friends with skills and knowledge that far surpass mine and go to the point where they understate their abilities on resumes and job applications to make them seem more human. I like to tell myself that comparing my abilities and views to them and theirs is wasteful. Time better spent would be on Microeconomics, Managerial Accounting or whatever other "useful" class that will one day earn me more money (because we all know that's what people in business care about...) I should just sit at my desk and read. Why waste time comparing myself to someone who is simply better?

When I started my freshman year, I knew that I would be entering a different world, one where "top of the heap" now meant "middle of the road". I felt lost in a pool of hundreds, all who fought for their spot to attend this school and got in with merits equal or probably better than mine. After my crisis last year about this very same problem I'm facing now, I felt that I finally made amends with myself. I accepted that we all have our own skills that make us better at something compared to our peers. It sounded childish then, like something my kindergarden teacher would tell me when Ben over there would colour within the lines better than I could, and it still sounds lubby dubby now.

It's only mid September, I just turned 19 and I still have so much ahead of me. Do I have to do what I did last year and just keep telling myself "It's Okay" when I know that deep down I will always have some nagging feeling whenever that someone passes by me on the way to class, reminding me "you're only average"? I don't want to be average. I will not settle for average. I don't want a Hershey's Bar when a Godiva truffle is right next to it. I don't want a Camry or Accord when I can have an E-Class or S80. I want to find that fighting spirit I once had when I knew I was close to the top just a handful of years ago. I don't think I lost it; I just tucked it away, something I regret doing. That fighting spirit got me here in the first place, if I can get it back, maybe I can do it again.

Sophomore Year: It's on.

Birthday

19 never felt so good

Awkward....

So I found out one of the guys I've been talking to on Grindr is actually one of my friends. I know without a doubt it's him and he knows the guy he's been talking with is me. I'm not terribly surprised this guy was into guys in retrospect but he's really closeted and I think he might be really freaked out right now that I found out in the way I did.

We haven't spoken since this incident occured a few hours ago.

This is awkward....

Week 1

Sup Guys! I realize it's been a while since I last wrote but I've been a bit too busy to keep up with writing here but I finally found some. Let's catch up:

First week of classes: I met all my professors and I'm optimistic about this semester. Most of my professors seem pretty chill. I know they were probably trying to be all personable and funny but there's a surprising amount of young blood (comparatively speaking) in the staff. My Managerial Accounting professor is a really chill guy; it's his first year teaching and he cracked his fair share of jokes. The only thing which was kinda funny to me was that his suit was a size or two too big and looked kind of odd on him haha. My microeconomics class is my first true lecture style class. Before this year, the biggest class I was in had about 80 people (ethics this past Spring) and this time it's about 300. German is interesting to say the least; one of my classmates, a freshman, went to a school really close to mine in VA which was a nice surprise. Otherwise, it's staring from scratch for me, almost nothing transfers from my French classes in high school so finding out what all the umlauts and what "ß" sound like. It's pretty cool though; the professor is this young guy who's really in touch with us.

Welcome Week: This first week has been pretty much one giant last bash before classes take over our lives. The Student Activities fair was held yesterday on the front lawn and I joined the Grilling Society and the International Relations Club. I still think I'm going to continue with tutoring and also with the campus Pride organization as well. I don't know if I'm going to pursue a job this time around. The Grilling Society sets up a stand every Friday and sells burgers on one of the Plazas. I don't have classes Friday (apart from an Econ recitation for 45 minutes) so I'm going to dedicate myself to getting in to the crowd. It's really a get yourself known and help out until they like you and then they might promote you to "grillmaster". I already talked to a bunch of the members and the President of the club so I'm on my way I hope.

Fun: I've been going out almost non stop this past weekend but I think that's the point for the first week back. Friday I went to see Don't be Afraid of the Dark with a few of the guys; it wasn't particularly scary but was creepy enough and it made me jump a few times. I love Guillermo del Toro's work though and there were so many Pan's Labyrinth similarities too (favorite movie ever, stream it if you can) Saturday was the midnight fair on the front lawn, I rode a mechanical bull for the first time (fail) and bumped myself up on a few obstacle courses (double fail) but it was really fun in a stumbling-around-drunk and having stuff to climb on way. Last night was the IRC kickoff and welcome party as well. There were a ton of freshmen still on their "I'm in college" high but after a while it cleared out to being mostly upperclassmen. We were at an apartment for a while before eventually ending up at a townhouse around 1:30. Overall, good night.

Today is mostly a catch-up on work day. I worked on German homework for almost two hours and I still need to get some reading done for other classes but I'll probably do most of it tonight. I only have one class tomorrow anyways so I have more time if I need it. I'm also trying to stick with my summer workout program so I'm aiming to keep with going to the gym four or five days a week. I want to put on about three more pounds before I level off and just maintain. The only sad thing now is that looking on the workout memories of the ergs I'm so fucking slow compared to the varsity crew guys it's kinda depressing.


Still better than this guy though....

Alright, that's a decent enough recap of what's been going on. I'll try to start writing more often/regularly and talk about more interesting topics again. Also, there's a new blog I'm following here that I think you guys will find interesting so check him out. He's a freshman tennis player which is pretty cool since I'm thinking of picking up tennis in addition to boxing with my friend Alex soon. Go check him out.

All the best,

JP

Grindr

Have you ever gotten that uncomfortable sinking feeling when you realize that you've stumbled upon something you probably shouldn't have? Well, that seems to be happening quite a lot recently. On my ipod touch I have an app called Grindr, now if you don't know what Grindr is (and based on the readers and audience of this blog I expect that most have at least heard of it) it's a app for gay guys to find each other using the GPS function on an iphone or ipod touch with wifi. The tame use is for finding friends while the more scandalous use of Grindr is that it's used for hookups and sex. A few months ago I downloaded Grindr and put up a profile; I got a lot of responses from creepy old guys and eventually just deleted it. A few days ago after I got back on campus, I decided to reinstall the app and see what would pop up, well, I found some interesting things.

First would be one of the RAs from my freshman year dorm. Now, he was openly gay and had a strange relationship with a thirtysome year old guy (repeat: STRANGE). But just seeing him on there is funny enough. Someone else I found is one of Liz's friends who I've asked before whether he was gay or not. He's not my type or anything but it was a curiosity I had, he was campy. Well, Liz told me that he wasn't and that he was a bit of a Casanova, well, this guy shows up as well. Even stranger is that he used his actual name which I thought broke Grindr rule no.1....

In addition to those I found a few other people who were only a few hundred feet away from me, one of whom messaged me this morning. Some I'm pretty sure are freshmen at the dorm next door while a few are probably in the upper classmen quad I'm part of. I don't have anything specific on my profile, I don't use a face pic (breaking Grindr rule no. 2...) and I try to just use it as a way to see what's going on around campus...okay, maybe I'll also use it for the occasional hookup but it's more of a "just for kicks" sort of thing for me...I promise.

JP

College Ver. 2.0....and go!

One year ago, I was getting ready to move to college for the first time. It was a very tumultuous time with mixed emotions tempered by the sheer hectitude (not a word, but go along with it) of it all. One year ago, it was also very sunny, warm and honestly one of the most beautiful days I can remember. Fast forwrad to today and it's a different story...
Yes, there were still mixed feelings as I packed the car again and started to make my dorm my new home but the whole process was much smoother. I moved in early since I'm helping new students move in as a move-in aid but more on that later. We got back on campus at 9 this past Wednesday while everyone was pretty much still asleep. I got my key, found my dorm, and thankfully recognized a few names on the doors of my hall. My room is supposedly bigger than last year but it didn't quite feel like it; it's a lot more square which I think is why. Also, much to my dismay there is no sink in the room anymore. My mom and I spent a few hours cleaning and unpacking my things, clothes and getting everything ready to go. We ended up getting lunch afterwards and after a few more trips picking up things I had forgotten from home we said our goodbyes again. Thank god I live close to home.

With hurricane Irene slowly making its way up the coast I made sure ot take advantage of Thursday and Friday's nice weather as much as I could. yesterday me and my friend Kate rented a pair of bikes and rode riverside to the monuments, memorials and up and down the National Mall for about two hours and that night me, Liz and Audrey went down to get Chipotle and some ice cream down on Wisconsin before it got too dark out. We chatted about how different things were coming back for our sophomore years compared to how it was before. How we weren't scrambling to say "hi" to every person we see and weren't scared out of our minds that were weren't going to have friends. Looking back, freshman move-in was probably one of the strangest parts of my life so far.

Irene made its way into the area starting early this morning and by the time I woke up things were pretty grey and dreary out; no rain, but you could feel it in your bones. At 11 I began my shift for move-in aiding, it was for an upper classmen dorm off campus and home to mostly transfers. After a quick start things slowed down to nothing and I ended up just sitting there with four other aids and chatting about all sorts of things after an initial hour of awkward silence. It was probably one of the most boring experiences of my life, the only consolation was the other guy there, a junior, was kinda hot. He wasn't mind-blowingly good looking but he had great azur blue eyes; I'm a sucker for nice eyes.

The hurricane is only going to get worse later tonight so me and a few others are just ordering-in and having a psuedo-hurricane party. The freshmen are slowly arriving (great time to move in eh?) and the kickoff festivities are soon. Alright, I promise to start writing about more interesting stuff soon but I needed to do a quick update first.

JP

Earthquake

Rhydon used "Earthquake" on the East Coast, it was super effective!

End of the Summer

Summer is slowly coming to an end, and in a few days I'll be moving back to campus for my sophomore year. Usually at this time and when I do my end-of-summer post I make some comment as to how short and quick it felt; well, this year doesn't quite fit that mold. Surely, it does feel like the past three months were faster than any three months spent at school, but this was definitely a long summer. Given it was about half a month longer than any high school summer it makes sense but even it was shorter it was definitely one of the quietest and smoothest summers I remember.

Today:
Today was my last day at work and let's just say it ended with a bang...not necessarily in a good way, but with some theatrics nonetheless. This morning my tire pressure sensor light came on, and when I got the garage, my front left tire was pretty much flat, great start to the day. Later, after I opened the store, I find out there was some massive accounting/record keeping fail over the weekend and I had to dig up and fax three days worth of receipts and paperwork to home office...I've never sent a fax in my entire life. Later, one of my coworkers forgot he was supposed to come in so I had to do an emergency call to my mom to bring me lunch since I couldn't leave the store. That kid, we'll call him K, is so freaking unreliable and irresponsible sometimes, it's the second day in a week he "forgot" he was scheduled to work *headshake*. Well, I left work early and went to changing the tire, another first for me. It was probably one of the most unpleasant things I've ever had to do, but it was better to do it in the garage rather than on the side of the highway. Me and my mom drove to the tire shop and we left the punctured tire for them to take a look at and see if it can be patched or if it needs to be replaced.

Fast forwarding, I just got back from a late dinner with Dutch and Mads. We got Korean BBQ in Annandale (Koreatown pretty much) and caught up. They were all excited about the "exotic" experience and we talked about plans for the upcoming year. Something that came up again was the surprise that Southern Charm and one of the captains from the crew team were roommates this year. It's surprising because SC is probably one of the most chill people ever and Captain is probably one of the most intense people I know, strange mix. Mads immediately jumped on how she found it suspicious and implied that maybe they had ulterior motives for rooming beyond just being friends from the same high school. Y'all know how I feel about SC, the goofy grinning, adorable, blue-eyed friend who I had a thing for back during my senior year and how I suspected he was gay, a sentiment that now I know both Dutch and Mads share. Captain is more confusing; I'm pretty sure he's straight but I guess you can never be sure. Mads suggested that it may be one-way with SC and Captain which I could see since Captain isn't half bad looking. Ugh, I need to get over that boy; he was just a good friend though it will probably continue to bother be anyways.

After dinner, we drove home with conversation about music and our mutual love for Adele...


Adele - Set Fire to the Rain

Well, a little while after we set off, a freaking deer jumps in front of the car. Mads slammed on the brakes while we all screamed our lungs dry and continued to panic for a few minutes after. It was terrible/exciting/funny/terrifying all at the same time. If this isn't the the "rogue deer running into the road" I've had as part of my blog description for over two years I don't know what is.

Summer in Review:

Work
I completed my first true job! It went pretty well I think; working retail, while getting a bum rap wasn't too bad. Granted, I worked in the kind of store where the clientele are nicer and um....more refined in taste than the average store which could have helped. I got valuable life experience and I think my people skills really improved from interacting with so many people for the past three months. One thing I did learn though is that people can be very egotistical, rude assholes sometimes, despite my prior statement. In addition to developing people skills, I think I've also become hardened against criticisms and person attacks on things I have no control over. My favorite line has become "I will never come back to this store unless you do ____". Advice: if you ever use this line, any retail worker with a modicum of experience is laughing his or her ass off on the inside. While I might try to apologize/explain things, on the inside, we are all thinking "Bitch, please, you're not special and we have countless other clients and it's only growing bigger with each day" on the inside. At least some of the music they play at work helps cheer things up...


Nicole Atkins - Maybe Tonight

I hope to return to my job back during my winter break. In the mean time I'm looking to find a job close to campus for maybe two shifts a week to make some spending money. I got a few applications ready and a few references so hopefully my search will turn out to be fruitful. Plus my resume has some actual work experience on it now!

Relaxing
Having a job for once over the summer ate up most of my otherwise lazy-time, and probably for the better. I did get plenty of relaxation though; the cruise with my mom was really nice and really recharged my batteries. I also enjoyed sleeping in and constantly getting about 8 hours of sleep every night; I'm going to miss it once classes start....

Working Out/Weight Gain
At the beginning of the summer I set the goal ot put on some weight and getting more fit. I've been hitting the gym regularly about 4 days a week, sometimes more if I have the time. I have made progress, I've put on about 8 or so pounds since the end of May, mostly on my upper body - arms, back and chest to an extent. My abs have much more definition than before which I really like and I think with a few more weeks and two more pounds I should be at my goal.

The Coming Year
My sophomore year looks to be pretty interesting. I'm taking another new language, this time the language will be German. I'm taking intro to German this fall semester, and if I like it I'll keep on it; it's non-intensive which is what I'm looking for since I'm not looking for something that will be too time consuming. I'm working on remembering/using French and my two dialects of Chinese as much as I can so my years of work won't be for naught. I'm also in Accounting II, MicroEcon, Management Organizational Behavior, and a philosophy class. I'm looking forward to a good year so cheers to that. As I said, I'm planning to find a job and continue with the clubs I'm already in including tutoring, Pride and helping out Liz with promoting a student-written collection of one-act plays for parent's weekend. I even got myself a new Laptop for the new year - it's another HP but with a Gen 2 Core i5 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 640GB hard drive. It's only 14" but I'm bring both the new one and my old 16" laptop to campus as a backup/stay-in-room computer since I still haven't transferred all my files.


Adele - Turning Tables

Well, I'll be moving back to campus Wednesday and getting settled in slowly. Classes don't start for another week or so but I'm helping the new freshmen move in and so I get to get back early and avoid the crowds. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to deck out my room and make it homey. I'll post pictures when it's done. The weather is finally getting nice; after weeks of 95+ degree weather or storms, it's been in the low-mid 80s and partly cloudy (win!). I'm picking up my keys tomorrow and look forward to enjoying my last day at home, at least until I stop by to visit. I'm planning on enjoying home cooking one last time, dining hall food only gets you so far unfortunately...

Alright guys, I hope things are going well in your neck of the woods. I have some catching up to do regarding reading blogs. I'm going to try commenting more in the future (I know how I love comments and others as well) and keep y'all updated if anything exciting comes up.

All the best,

JP

Leo

Watching Titanic on VH1 makes me yearn for the days when Leonardo DiCaprio was young and cute...

When I was little, (aka 5) I thought Titanic was the coolest thing in the entire world, I actually saw it about five times in theaters, I don't know how many times on VHS (remember those?) and my parents would play the sound track in the car whenever we went out for a drive; I was such a loser.

Just do me already!

Don't get me wrong, he's not bad looking now, but he's not one of those actors that seems to be getting hotter with age unfortunately :/

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to stick with Ryan Gosling...

drooling....

....still drooling

Forget Leo, do me now you classy-ass motherfucker!

Now excuse me while I try to collect myself from being all hot and bothered...

Flashmobs

It's beginning to seriously bother me how some people can be so idiotic and devoid of any moral reasoning or concept of right and wrong. This rant is mostly based the recent craze of "flashmobs" and "flash robberies" that seeming is spreading across the US but is hitting especially hard in the DC area.


It's starting to get annoying that all I heard on the local news is about these flash mobs and groups of teenagers robbing stores at 3AM but flooding them in groups and then running off with mountains of stuff. Seriously? Are some people so immoral or just plain stupid that they feel the need to join some mob-mentality spurred grab and dash to rob some unsuspecting store owner? People have even gotten hurt in the process of these flash mobs lately, about a week ago, two people got severely beaten when a flash mob suddenly popped up in the area. Psychologists say people are doing it for the thrill of it, but there are plenty of ways to get a thrill that doesn't involve breaking the law. I hope this craze will pass soon and the people who were involved just get arrested already so we can get on with our lives and real news like this can actually be reported (doubt it, people like sensationalist media too much X/ )

Flash mobs, at least during their inception as clever advertising tactics, can be a positive force for change. What garners more attention for a cause than the surprise mob of people working towards some positive change for their community? Little. I think it started with T-Mobile about two years ago who did this little number...



...but my favorite would probably be some done by a Belgian TV station to promote some acting competition relating to the Sound of Music. (Those crazy Europeans lol)



And can I please not how homogeneous (aka white) they are there? They should rename Antwerp "Wonderbreadlandia"

Well, anyways, school is going to start soon and I'll give y'all an update as to what has been going on in my life ASAP; I just wanted to get that off of my chest first.

Thanks for reading,

JP