To follow up my post on nostalgia...

Remember when you would get pulled out of school early by your parents to go somewhere awesome? That was the best!

I frequent the office to refill my Wild Wingers Kids Club water bottle with sparklets water, and today one of my favorite 2nd graders was sitting there. I knew it was her birthday, so I asked her how her birthday was going. She said it was going pretty good, and I then asked her if she was getting picked up early because she had her backpack with her. (usually kids are in the office if they are sick or have boo-boo's)

She said her dad was coming to pick her up to go to Disneyland! So I congratulated her and told her to have fun, and then she said, "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" (it warmed my heart)

But anyways, I remember the feeling of getting picked up early from school to go somewhere cool. Either my freshman or sophomore year, my parents picked up my brother and I early from good 'ol Pacific Christian High School, so that we could go to San Francisco for my cousin's wedding. I love how all your friends ask you, "where are you going? Why are you leaving school early?" And then you tell them, and envy ensues! Ha!




Then, when I walked back to my office, this is what I heard from the boy's bathroom, "Jacob, you need to put your pants back on so you can come back outside."

I remember when I used to be really into Nostalgia...

DISCLAIMER: This post is a thought I had today, and is not a Biblical Truth, nor do I think I'm super awesome for writing it. Read if you'd like, or skip below for summary.


Sometimes it's hard for me to throw away old clothes, because I have a specific memory about them. I left a pair of old Adidas Samba shoes in Brasil this past summer, but I could barely do it with all the memories I had attached to those two things of leather and rubber. I ran in them, went to Tanzania in them, taught my first year in them, etc....

Is it possible to have too much nostalgia? Can I dwell so much on the warm memories of the past that it interrupts the possible memories of today and tomorrow?

When I was in high school, I believed Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail to be at least one of the top 3 funniest movies of all time. Very quotable, and full of silly, silly scenes. However, I watched it a few months back, and found myself laughing at maybe 20% of the jokes I used to laugh at.

Maybe a year or so ago, I was hanging out with my friend Caleb (oh what a swell time it was). He and I have been friends for quite some time, at least since 5th grade. We were talking about some of the memories we had of me spending the night almost every weekend in jr. high, playing roller hockey in his street or Josh's street, and our ska band that never came into fruition, The Speedy Snails. But he brought up a good point when he said something along the lines of: "it's great to reminisce about the old good times, but I want to make new memories, too."

Brilliant. (This guy has a degree in Philosophy, you know)

Memories are amazing. I love remembering where I got a certain t-shirt, or when that special someone got her foot caught in the seat at the hockey game, or when my brother pushed me off the couch to give me my scar on my eyebrow.

(Here comes the big 'But') ...But, I hope my remembering doesn't interfere with learning. Yes, we learn from our mistakes. Our mistakes are memories. I know not to get shampoo in my eyes because of when I did it years ago.

I just also hope that I'm ready for those new mercies every morning. I don't want to blindly say, "God, why can't life be how it was when I was younger? With Saved by the Bell and NHL 95 for Super Nintendo?"

I want to be able to be taught, use discernment, and make new memories, too.



Summary: learn from mistakes, but don't let old memories get in the way of new memories. (While using discernment)

What if...

...I updated my blog?

...there was no hope? (there is, by the way)

...thrice was a ska band?

...you could teleport? (blogspot.com does not recognize the word 'teleport')

...people had reverse curfews? (i.e. "billy, you can't come home until 11:00 p.m.")

...our fingers were like those antennae on snails, so they would retract when you touched stuff?

...you could train a bird to play the trumpet? (would it be as cool as the fact that he could fly?)

...there were killer whales in Fantasmic! ?

...there was bologna cologne? (delicious)

...david beckham's jersey had a problem, and the "c" and the "k" fell off?

...our laps were somewhere else?

...artichokes were sneaky like spies?

...we really believed all the time that God loves us? (He does, and it should blow our minds!)

...mimes sang?

...we had volume knobs for all our friends?

...that Atlantis ride at Sea World made sense?

...The Master's College was in San Gabriel?

Washington, D.C.

I got the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. with the 8th Grade class of '09 from San Gabriel Christian School, and it was most awesome. I just put some photos on my facebook, and do not want to have to go through and put them here as well, so here is a link so you can see them, even if you don't have facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=94078&id=506560828&l=07018b702e

Favorite Song lately...

is "Hallelujah, We will sing." by Tommy Walker. You can listen to it on the left. It's the one incorrectly labeled, "Do it Lord."

This song is inspired by the text of Revelation 19, and depicts Christ in His triumphant return. What a day it will be....

Things I learned in the past few days...

-3rd Grade boys can eat foot-long sandwiches from Subway.
A few months ago, my work had this big auction/raffle/dessert night, and one of the raffles was, "Win a lunch with Coach Hoover and a friend." So, parents could put their tickets into the bag, so that their students could pick one friend, and I would treat them to lunch. The winner ended up being a third grader, and he picked his 5th grade cousin to come along. He decided he wanted Subway, so I bought them each a foot-long and chips (they didn't want soda, we all elected to get water). I was very impressed to see the third-grader finish his entire foot-long, as well as some flaming hot Cheetos. (note: the fifth grader did not finish his whole sandwich)

-We (including myself) as sports fans often get carried away.
My favorite hockey team recently advanced to the second-round of the playoffs, and I did some gloating over the internet phenomenon, Facebook. A friend of mine and I went back and forth a little bit (all in good nature, i think) over the topic, and it got me thinking. It is really funny how much pride I take in a sports team. About 90% of the players are different from the roster 6 years ago, and I don't know any of them personally. I didn't do anything at all to help their victory, but still I will gloat in their achievements. Of course, we all take pride in our sports teams, but it's just funny if you think about it. "Ohhhhh, this group of individuals that are near to me locationally hit the puck into the net of the group of individuals that are near you!" I didn't help them in any way, but I take pride in their accomplishments. Weird. Go Ducks.

-Roommate Disneyland Days are fun.

-Sometimes, school is sooooo long. (But it's good for you, I hear.)

-Cool weather and good music really help me when I run.

-The Documentary, The Lost Boys of Sudan is really good. Sudanese refugees come to America to get jobs and education, and they quickly try to adjust to the "hustle and bustle" lifestyle that is America.


-"Be still, Cody."

-Overtime is exhilarating.

-Exhilarating is kind of hard to spell.

-Mother's Day is coming up.



See ya.

One of my favorite hockey fights...

I was watching hockey videos on youtube, which is something I never do, and remembered one of my favorite fights. So I looked it up, and was wowed once again.

The two combatants are Travis Moen (who was a Duck), and Shea Weber (Nashville Predators).

The reason I like this fight is because Travis Moen gets his jersey pulled over his face, but still delivers the ultimate punch. You rarely see KO's like this in hockey fights, and he does this with his jersey over his face. Have a look see.



Way to go, Trav.

...and Rain will make the flowers....grow.....

(10 points if you know what the title of this post is from.)

Yesterday, I got to see the Beatles play live, sort of. Ok, maybe I didn't, but I did get to see Rain at the Pantages. Rain is a Beatles cover band, and they play the songs exactly like the Beatles, dress like the Beatles, have the same tendencies as the Beatles, and are just a plain good time. Here's a clip:


I went with Aubrey and Zack, who are big Beatles fans, and just cool people in general. Zack and I saw another Beatles tribute this past summer at the Hollywood Bowl, where CheapTrick played the entire Sgt. Pepper.. album. (Billy Corgan was there, too. Aubrey missed out.)


We also met up with my friend Rob, who is my reference and source for any Beatles knowledge I need to know.

Matching. Music.

We had free dress day the other day, a monthly event here at the school I work at. There is a 6th grader named Johnathan who shares the same passion and fervor for the Anaheim Ducks as I do. We figured out we have a lot of the same t-shirts/jerseys, so we've decided to match for the next few free dress days. Here are some evidences...

I'm standing kind of weird.


We even had the same ducks shirt underneath. We're so cool right now.


Also, my roommate Chad helped me install these cd holders in my room. We got them from ikea, and if you hang them vertically, they are dvd holders.



I've also been writing a lot of lyrics for my friends band I'm starting to sing with. So, that's been fun lately.

#9

Gordie Howe was #9.
Wayne Gretzky wanted #9 (but it was taken, so he settled for #99).
Bobby Hull was #9.
Maurice Richard was #9.
Mike Modano is #9.

My favorite player, Paul Kariya, wears #9 on the St. Louis Blues.

He used to be a Duck.

For the first time since Paul Kariya left in 2004, the Ducks have given his #9 to a new player, Bobby Ryan.

I'm a Bobby Ryan fan, but #9 on the Ducks will always mean Paul Kariya to me.


Who else is/was #9?
(I wore #9 in hockey, #13 in soccer)

Where I live.

A few weeks ago, I moved out from where I had lived for most of my 23 years of life. (I lived in Alhambra for 2 years, and in Slight for 3 years.)

Anywho, here are a few rough "photo booth" pictures from my computer:

This is what you see when you walk in. The apartments are called the Wishing Well apartments.


Here are some living room pictures:


My dad said, for a bunch of guys, we're ahead of the game, since we actually have furniture. He expected to see us sitting on crates and boxes when he came over


Our little table that D brought. It is most excellent for watching the sky get bright in the morning whilst eating breakfast at 6:38 a.m.


D, Chad, and I don't necessarily know our way around kitchens as well as that really good chef. Luckily, our kitchen is really small, so we don't get too lost... yet.


This is one of the two features that really sold me on this place.
A CLOCK ON THE BACK OF THE CABINETS!


AND (you can't see it too well here, you must come see it in person)
A LITTLE AWNING, AS IF THERE WERE A SEPARATE ROOF OVER THE KITCHEN!


D's room.


Chad and Donny's room.


Chad and Donny's room.



Those are few pics. It's a jolly, jolly place to live and eat and sleep. Come on over and we'll play chess, eat oranges, or watch some hockey dvd's.

Goodbye Muscatel, Hello-tus.

I moved .5 miles away from home, to a street called Lotus.

Documentation to come.

Come, Unity.

1 Corinthians 12!


Let's do it!


commUNITY!


(this is what we learned at college and post-graduate retreat)

A Little Help from My Friends...

"Capping an acoustic benefit concert for non-profit To Write Love on Her Arms, the assemblage of pop-punk and emo frontmen shuffled out with a few guitars, an upright bass (played sideways), and the ubiquitous tambourine to perform the classic rock'n'roll anthem, a song whose chorus echoes the organization's mission statement of presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.

Watch the video here -- which, for the record, features Jon Foreman (Switchfoot), Aaron Gillespie (Underoath/The Almost), Dustin Kensrue (Thrice), Anthony Raneri (Bayside), Josh Moore, and Zach Williams."



This was too cool not to share.

A few BFC photos...

Here are a few photos from Bulldogs FC from the past few games courtesy of the Girls team coach, Heather.
(I don't know how to make some of these fit, so you can see the whole photo if you click on it)

At the end of every practice, before games, sometimes at half-time, and after games, BFC circles up with our arms around each other, and I essentially say the same thing every time. I remind them how we are so blessed to be able to play soccer, and that the main reason we work hard at it is to glorify God. He is the ultimate reason we go out on that field, and regardless of the score, if we work our hardest for Him, we can bring glory to Him.

We say a few jokes sometimes, too.


Coach D-ram and myself. One of my favorite parts of having David be my assistant coach has been the fact that I get to hang out with him more often. He and I have been able to have some good talks after practices, on the way to games, and it's been really good for us to be together in light of the recent events in our lives.

Here are the guys! (most of them, anyways. Some of them are behind each other, like the crazies they are)
They are a great, great group. That's all I'm going to say without getting too sentimental or emotional.


Whew. I am blessed.

If you have a blog,....

...do you ever sing Dashboard Confessional songs in your head when you click the "Dashboard" link?

I do.

Today is my Dad's birthday!

...and we are celebrating by going to see Ducks vs. Sabres on Monday! I'm very excited. Going to Ducks games are kind of our "thing" we do together. So I'm looking forward to bonding Father-Son time.

Here are things that have gone on or things I've learned in the past week:

-Making new friends is a great thing to do. Hanging out with the old ones is great, too.

-Bulldogs FC is a team that is fun to be around.

-Playing a night soccer game under the lights is so fun! Hats off to BFC for their effort this past wednesday night. They made me proud.

-The Word of God is living and active!

-Free-dress Fridays are so joyous! Not only is it friday, but everyone is wearing clothes they chose to wear, conveying themselves a little better.

-Some days, you may approach situations where you anticipate one ending, but come into another. The two general choices for response are, "ok, I guess I'll do something different," or "I guess I have to try harder to do better next time."

This was the case for me 4 and a half years ago, when I tried out for The Master's College Chorale. Many people assured me I would make it, but I did not. I was devastated, as I had planned on "making it," being with my brother and friends, and going on tour to Israel. However, all those plans were quickly washed away as I walked over to the music rooms at 10 p.m. one night to see the list of who made it.
I could have tried for a different music group, or decided to keep practicing in order to make it next time they had auditions, but I didn't feel that would be for me.

I decided just to trust that God had something else in mind, and He did. I had an amazing first year at The Master's College, and a lot of the things I did and friends I made probably wouldn't have come into place if I was in Chorale, what with their rehearsals and performances and the like. I thanked God I did not make Chorale. Not only was it a humbling experience, but I got to experience that which I would not have if I were in Chorale.

So, if you encounter a trial like that, perhaps you should evaluate and see if it's a "try, try again" situation, or a "try something else" situation.

p.s. I need to get more photos on here, but my camera battery dies every minute and a half. sorry.

p.p.s. I'm looking forward to seeing Phantom of the Opera this Tuesday, and then seeing Rain on April 5! (Both at the Pantages Theater)

Happy January 26th!

Here's something to celebrate the "Great One's" birthday.



Gretzky was better at hockey than any other athlete in their sport.


Yes, I just said that. Or wait, do any other athletes share or hold 61 of their league records? (nope)

January 24th

January 24th is not only two days prior to a very special day (Jan. 26th-Wayne Gretzky's birthday), but it is also Saturday.

Here are a few noteworthy things:

-3 games in 3 days for Bulldogs FC this past week. We went 0-2-1 in those games against some very good teams. That's a very tiring schedule, I must say.

-I reunite with my old roommate Chad White today, as he moves in with me. (And then we move out again, coming soon).

-A few of us are going to see The Cutout Casuals, our friend David's band, at the Whiskey in Hollywood.

-I went to Amoeba Records again last night, only buying two cd's (Dashboard and Jon Foreman) for $10. That's self-control.

-Bo threw up at least four times the other night. Something did not agree with his stomach.

-I watched another episode of Planet Earth today. *speechless*

-How are you?

That thing going around FaceBook, and if I could only own 5 records.

I copied and posted that thing going around facebook, "25 or 16 or whatever number of things about You." Don't be a hater, it's fun, and you can get to know more about each other. Just look at it that way.

1. I mostly wear Adidas Samba shoes.
2. I wear two pairs of socks with my soccer cleats.
3. I wish I knew my Grandpa's. (they both died when I was super little)
4. I like Kermit the Frog better than Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny.
5. I'm really disappointed they haven't released seasons 4-7 of Boy Meets World.
6. I've had a birthday in Uganda, Ukraine, and Tanzania.
7. I picked the Anaheim Ducks to be 'my team' before their first game. I based it on my affinity for Disney, but am very glad they are not associated with Disney anymore.
8. My two current 'dream' occupations are Astronaut and pro hockey player.
9. I want to be like Mr. Rogers (in most ways, not all)
10. I was accepted to, and really wanted to attend University of California, San Diego. God wanted me to go to Citrus and Master's, though.
11. I'm not really into 'action' movies anymore. (Except for classic Harrison Ford stuff)
12. Five Iron Frenzy is my favorite band. I relate to them in many a way, and I once saw them 3 times in 3 nights (Santa Ana, San Diego, and Hollywood). I also drove 18+ hours with some friends to see their last show.
13. I once went to a minor league hockey game by myself (Long Beach Ice Dogs)
14. One of my most comfortable flights was a jetBlue flight from Oakland to Long Beach.
15. It seems like God has grown me most when I've been 'sad' or 'scared.'
16. My favorite person to play music with is my brother. I've never 'really' played with my dad.
17. I have an old hockey shoulder injury that acts up time to time.
18. I think I am so blessed to still be close friends with people I've known since I was about 5.
19. I once wore #19 on a hockey team. (I was usually #9 (Paul Kariya))


For my next segment, imagine you are left on a desert island for the rest of your life. You are allowed to pick 5 records to have with you, and you will have means to listen to them. (Let's not get all focused on the hypothetical situation, just focus on the 5 albums) Remember, these don't have to be necessarily the ones you think are 'Greatest Albums of All-Time," this is "if you could only listen to 5 albums for the rest of your life."

Here are the ones that mean most to me:

Further Seems Forever - Hide Nothing

This record has quickly put itself amongst my favorite since I bought it a few months ago. I always knew they were pretty good, and even got to see one of their last California shows in 2006 thanks to Steve Tenney, but for some reason I never listened closely until now. A lot of what I was going through in life related to the lyrical content of the record. Lines like, "live your life, don't hide it all," and "the times that I feel nothing, you bring enough," really hit me hard, and they are musically very interesting. At first glance, you might assume they're just another emo-sounding alt. rock band, but they are very unpredictable in their songs, and I really like that.

Thrice - Vheissu

Intensity in music AND lyric?!?! This is such a solid record front to back, it's got the intensity of "Image of the Invisible," the heaviness of "The Earth will Shake," the melody of "Music Box," the cinematic appeal of "Stand and Feel your Worth," and will take you sailing under the "Red Sky." This is thrice in between the super hard, in-your-face Artist in the Ambulance and the very experimental Alchemy Index, thus, the sound is somewhere in between there. Yesssss.


Les Miserables

This musical was my life for three months, thus carries a lot of life memories within the music. I also love the story of redemption, and my two favorite songs are "One Day More," and "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables."


braveSaintSaturn - The Light of Things Hoped For

Reese Roper writes lyrics and music that I really connect to. This record is the more meloncholy and 'sad' project that speaks of heartbreak, hurt, and the hope one can find in the midst of feeling lost and alone. The tagline of this record should be, "sometimes, the bravest thing of all is to hope" (Hope in God's Love)


Five Iron Frenzy - The End is Here

Again, Reese Roper's lyrics with the more upbeat and creative music styles made by him and the band. This is the recording of their final show in Denver, Co, in Nov. of 2003. This collection of songs performed that evening sum up their 8.5 year career, and ends with a heart-wrenching and emotional performance of their 'sacred song', Every New Day. The End is Here also includes the "End is Near" record, so it's kind of a two-for-one choice.

What would you choose if you could only have 5 records?

A Few Noteworthy Headlines...

-Bulldogs FC won their first league game on Wednesday, Jan. 14th, 5-4 over Calvary Christian Eagles! (First soccer win in SGCS history!)

-I got the Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons ep (Cabin Ghosts) at the recommendation of my sister (-in-law). It's pretty great.

-I finally received Horton Hears a Who! dvd in the mail. It's been a long time coming. It's a great, great film.

-I'm currently listening to Ella Fitzgerald.

-I visited my old school, The Master's College, last night with my former roommate of 3 years, Matt Nalamlieng. I got a free carabiner and coffee mug from the Alumni desk (Thanks Holly!), and got to see a few old friends. We had planned on going to the main session, then staying for the Chapel Band concert, but it didn't exactly pan out that way.....

I had planned to meet Matt at his house at 6 p.m. As I approached his street, he called me on the telephone to say, "I don't think I can go." I said, "What?! Come on!" He proceeded to say something along the lines of, "My fish tank broke, so I need to take care of everything..." At first, I thought it was no big deal, we could fix it in 15 minutes, and still make it to the conference.

I went into his house, and he said, "you might want to take off your shoes and socks, and roll up your pants." I began to think that there was more damage than I had anticipated.

He began to tell me the story of this traumatic event, which happened while trying to make a somewhat routine alteration by drilling a small hole in his tank. As he had pushed the drill in, a large crack brought itself into existence, and the water began pushing, as if trying to escape the grasps of the tank. Matt was stuck, like one of those cartoons who has to keep his finger in the hole of the leaking wall, but can't remedy the situation without taking his finger off the hole, which would lead to certain water flow onto the ground. As he held his finger in the hole, pressing against the crack as not to let the force of the 40 gallons of water take over, he had to make a decision: either stay there holding the hole until someone came home, or make a move to transfer the fish to a smaller tank he previously had.

He knew he had to attempt to save his fish community, which consisted of two clown fish, a shrimp, a little crab, and two other ones I forget right now. As a he let go, water rushed against the wall the tank was against, and he frantically grabbed the fish to transfer them. The first clown, he grabbed and heroically tossed to the other tank, only to see that he had overshot the small tank! The clown twitched a few times on the ground before Matt rescued him, again, and placed him in the small tank. He systematically grabbed the others, leaving only this yellow one to save. But this fish was kind of weird, as he kept playing and evading Matt's grasps, not realizing the situation. In frustration, Matt yelled, "I'm trying to save you!" and was finally able to save the fish. Keep in mind, in all this time, Matt is home alone, as I did not arrive on the scene for another 20-30 minutes.

Matt was able to get all the fish to the small tank, and proceeded to try and keep some of the spilling water from going absolutely everywhere.

When I walked up his stairs, I saw a soaked carpet (in some areas), and a large, cracked, 40-gallon fish tank in the bathroom tub.

"It felt like a bad dream," Matt said, as we assessed the situation. I laughed, a lot. Luckily, he did too, and we started drying up the wet spots, and throwing away the broken parts. A fish tank exploding is a very traumatic thing, I learned, and we googled the situation to see if any others had experienced anything similar. They had. Some people had their tanks explode in the middle of the night for, what appears to be, no reason. Wow.

It was definitely memorable, and I got to hang out with Matt the whole evening, so I had a great time.



Big gulps, huh?

Bulldogs FC, CD's, and Departing of T's.

Since I wrote to you last, the first ever soccer game in the celebrated 60 year history of San Gabriel Christian School has taken place.

On Friday, January 9th, 2009, the Bulldogs FC traveled down to a windy Huntington Beach, where we would make history in a match vs. Brethren Christian.

The biggest enemy for the boys was the full-size field, something we have never played upon at our humble campus. While the size brought fatigue to the boys, our conditioning also kept us in the game the entire time. Brethren Christian got up 2-0 in the first half, and as half-time came and went, the boys were ready to leave everything out on the field. We fought back, won a few battles, and were able to score the first goal in Bulldogs FC history, off the foot of Michael Simonian. This lit a fire underneath the rest of the team, as we pressed with fervor against Brethren Christian, trying to find the equalizer. However, while it was a day of history, it would not prove to be the day of our first win, as the score would remain 2-1.

I am severely proud of the Bulldogs effort, and find no regrets in our first game ever. A job well done, boys.

(sorry I don't have any photos from the actual game)

Next up, I wanted to highlight a few Compact Disc purchases I have made in the past few weeks.

Sunny Day Real Estate

Here are three records from the old 90's rock band, Sunny Day Real Estate. I have been a huge fan of Jeremy Enigk for awhile, now, and felt it was time to add his old band's records to my collection. They are an alternative rock band, and Jeremy has often been credited with creating the genre of "emo." However, do not associate this band with the whiney/screamo/lame/un-moving music in the past few years. Enigk's songs, especially from his latest record, "World Waits", can actually move you. The music itself can bring about certain emotions just from listening. I'll spare you from getting really in depth about how great Enigk is.

The Reign of Kindo/ Atonement Soundtrack


The Reign of Kindo is, well, better than any band you've heard on pop radio. They are complex and talented musicians, but their writing style comes through in a way that won't scare off listeners who "don't get" jazz. My brother wrote a little blurb about them after he saw them. You can read that here

The Atonement soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful. Perhaps you can feel some of the emotion better if you have seen the film (which, at first, I thought was no big deal, but then kept thinking about some of the themes, and starting thinking, "hey, maybe that was really good."), but one can still enjoy the lovely and dark piano melodies. Also, they cleverly incorporate a type-writer sound into the songs as a percussion instrument of sorts, which is an allusion to one of the characters from the film, Briony (love that name!), who wants to be a writer. Anyway, it's good stuff.

Speaking of type-writers, my family was at my Aunt's house for a Christmas/Paul's birthday celebration, and my sister (-in-law) started talking about how she wanted a type-writer. My Aunt then proceeded to say, "oh, I have two." So we went to the garage and got out this sweet old type-writer, which was really heavy. So it was funny how that worked out.

For my next segment, I'd like to give an ode to some of my clothes. What? I was trying to get rid of some of those t-shirts I have and love, but never wear, so I decided I would give them some honor through my blog, so that their memory would live on, but I could have more space. You know those kinds of clothes you never wear, but say, "I can't get rid of that, that's from when...." ?

So here are a few:

This shirt is an Indian and the number 5. I don't know why. One Christmas, my aunt got me a shirt from Structure(s)? or something, so I needed to return it, and you could only exchange it for something else. So, being in high school, I believe, I found the one "weird" t-shirt in the "semi-fancy" store, and claimed the Indian 5 as mine own. I wore it maybe 6 times. Farewell Indian 5.


This is a t-shirt from the Pizza place, Oregano's, which is in Arizona. A group from church drove there to eat Pizza and see a Dodgers/DiamondBacks game. The funniest part of the trip was when Geoff was shaking a ketchup bottle, and it opened, and spilled all over Mark. I've worn this shirt 5 times. I got it about 6 years ago.


This one is from my Tanzania missions trip. These were our t-shirts for one of the activities, the 30-Hour Famine we did with HOPAC. I liked the shirt because the footprint is in the shape of Africa. However, I've maybe worn it once here in the States. I got it a year and a half ago.


This shirt is from my first Vans Warped Tour that I attended in 2000 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. We saw Weezer, MxPx, NoFx, Green Day, and discovered Thrice from a cassette tape that Josh Leffler found on the ground.


This shirt was bought for me by one of my best friends, Matt Calamia, when he went to Florida to visit the DisneyWorld resort. I believe he got
it from the Indiana Jones stunt show. I love Indiana Jones. But I never wear this shirt anymore, (except for the day I saw Indiana Jones 4).



These last two shirts are emotional for the same reason. You see, I had a shirt that was too small. It was the shirt I received when I first joined the Wild Wingers Kids Club. It was a Youth Large, and I am a Youth Fat. So, I cut out the graphic I wanted to wear, and I sewed it onto a shirt that fit me. Yes, I can sew. My blue one was the opposite case. I received a New York Rangers shirt that was too big for me, so I cut out the logo, and proceeded to sew it to a smaller shirt that I would wear. Yes, I sew. However, I don't wear these anymore because I have other Kids Club shirts, and I don't watch the Rangers as much as I used to. (I watched them in '94, when they won the cup, and I played on a team called the Rangers, who won the city league championship. Word up to the West Covina Rangers, Fall '01!)


I just spent the day in Hollywood, where I attended Hollywood Church, which is a church plant my friend Rob helped start. We had a swell time, and they even provided a chili lunch. I then met up with my brother at Amoeba Records, where I proceeded to spend 3.5 hours and $74.57. However, $24 of that was for my brother's birthday present, a Radiohead vinyl (Ok Computer, i think). I was able to score 10 cd's for $50. They are as follows:

Calibretto 13: Adventures in Tokyo (annoying acoustic-driven folk-rock)
The View: hats off to the buskers (I'm pretty sure this is a really good alternative band that Josh L. new the members of)
Garden State Soundtrack (lots of chill, existential sounding songs.)
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Soundtrack. (Whimsical and beautiful)
Mozart's Requiem (I sang some of it in high school. Dies Irae rocks the house)
The Essential Ella Fitzgerald (it has "summertime" AND "Mack the knife")
Dashboard Confessional: The Places you have come to fear the most (I'm starting to like Carrabba now)
Denison Witmer: Philadelphia Songs (only artist I've never actually 'heard.' However, I've heard a lot 'about,' and it's on the same label as one of my favorites, Unwed Sailor. And the packaging was great)
The Myriad: Prelude to Arrows (A great band along the lines of Muse's kid brother)
Roadside Monument split EP (Johnathan Ford's (Pedro the Lion, Unwed Sailor) old project)
Gomez: Bring it on (I saw the singer sing at the Hollywood Bowl, and I dig it.

I'll let you know if any of these blow my mind.

Thanks for looking at this incredibly long post. Now go take a nap.

your friend,
Donny

Some Idaho Pictures I stole from Chad's facebook

I was very sleepy when I got to Chad's house in Santa Maria on Sunday, December 28th.
I had a late night and an early morning, and I knew we'd be driving ALLLLLL day on Monday.


Here I am during my 4.5 hour driving shift. Chad drove 5 hours before my shift, and 5 or 6 after.


We were finally able to find Justin at the Ashley Inn, where Santa also lives sometimes. Note: Justin looks really, really small because he is standing further from the camera.


Here we are about to pay to go on a legit tubing run. They have this little "lift" that pulls you and your tube to the top of the hill, so you don't get all tired from hiking. At this point in time, my sambas were not providing adaquate warmth for my toes, which maybe why my face looked like such.


This is Justin on the "lift."


This is Justin's dad, Cliff, displaying the proper form and etiquette in tubing.
A few minutes later, I would run into my high school Bible teacher, Mr. Johnson.


Here, Justin informs us on how to properly play Wii, and why Boise State is such a good school.



I did my best to use those Wii controllers, but soon after this photo was taken, Chad informed me they had to turn the system on first.


Here is Justin boxing in pajamas, one of the many great things about the Wii.


Chad got sick, and was barely able to stay alive. This was when he was considering pulling the plug. But he persevered, and even played Wii golf from his couch.



Justin had to teach his little neice to ride her new Christmas gift.


Chad and I made video updates for our journey. I'll try to get some of them on here someday, maybe.


Chad and I also learned about the story behind "Donner Pass," and drove through it while it snowed.


Hooray for Idaho!

House-sitting

Here are a few snaps of who I took care of from Friday (26th) - Sunday (28th).


MAGGIE

GINNY

BINX a.k.a. "The Buce"


Good times.