THIS IS ALL THAT MATTERS

Manthem

It's been four days. Pardon my temporary lack of commitment to this blog. It's summer...oh yeah and Finals Week. So if I'm not studying or writing a paper, I'm outside with my friends. And since I only really have two finals, most of my time has been spend with the latter.

School is all but over. I have to move out of my place by Saturday at noon and probably move everyone else as well. Then, my summer job starts on Sunday. I'm going to try to work WAY to much this summer. I just need money. I'mma do my best to save save save, but yeah, I will be buying stuff as well.

Gotta finish this paper real fast so I can go fishin' :-)

Medic! Medic!

Man down and we're losing him fast!



CLASS IS OVER. CLASS IS OVER. CLASS IS OVER!!!

It's like 80 degrees out and sunny. I am so stoked.

Instead of telling the story of the last few days, I'm just gonna post pictures with captions.

Triple Decker PB&J w/ Man Sized Glass of Milk


Garbage has been taken care of!


Dr. Terry Collins "Green Chemistry: Sustaining a High Technology Civilization"


Cory put on Katelyn's hoodie and had to itch his nose on the chair cause he couldn't reach with his hands lo
l
Whitey doesn't read so good



GUTS + GLORY'S SECOND TO LAST SHOW TOMORROW AT FORWARD HALL

Rainchecks And Cancellations

I've edited the commenting options on this blog so that ANYONE, and more specifically, EVERYONE can leave a comment, whether you have the proper accounts on the proper sites or any of that nonsense.

So in lieu of the usual pictures, daily things and stuff, I'm going to change it up.

I pose to you, ALL OF YOU, this question:


What was the BEST thing to happen to you today?


Leave your responses in a comment. Thanks guys.

Weather To A Stone

Corey is home. And the complications ensue. But I'm alright.

Katelyn and Geo broke up. She is here. And she's alright.

Casey is home. We're having lunch today. Everything is alright.



I do my best to not let anything get me down. I'm pretty happy most of the time. I might get mad or upset about something, but it rarely lasts more than a day. I keep my chin up always. I got that PMA [Positive Mental Attitude] as it were. But there was a while there maybe a few weeks ago, where I was just not doing good. It lasted for a few weeks. I didn't really talk to anyone about it. It's not really in my nature to unburden those kinds of problems on my friends. I talked to my brother a little about it. And Hannah a little. And I think that's about it. I was not about to admit to myself, let alone other people that I was depressed. When my mom asked me if I was alright, I told her she was crazy and to get off my Facebook lol. Granted she got on me about some totally arbitrary note or status or something, but still, I blew her off. I blamed it partly on seasonal depression. I fuggin hate the rain. But I just started thinking about everything I've done wrong, things I might do wrong, people I miss, relationships I screwed up, failing out of school, never amounting to anything, working shitty jobs forever, ending up like my dad, perpetuating his abusive behavior, being alone...yanno, the usual "Early Adulthood Depression Checklist." I'm happy to say I've pulled myself out of it for the most part. All is well.

Weather is getting nicer and nicer. School is about over. And I am so beyond super duper mega stoked.


I finally just did it. All dishes = CLEAN and STORED. Garbage is next.

So with all due respect,
BOOYAH

How Far Do We Have To Travel...

Just To Be Home Again.

***

Friday night was full of fun. Brent, Nikki, Lauren, Fallon, Eli and I went to Tyler's Recital at Alexander Hall. Kids got some dang pipes. After his last piece we all spilt over to a show at Doucette. It was awesome. Good diverse group of attendees. Diverse bands. Everyone had fun from the looks of it.

A Brio-Phase played pretty good aside from bass player breaking his string. I like the sound. Reminded me of The K-Word and one part reminded me of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, so I that was a plus.
Straight No Chaser was fuckin cool. I had never heard em til that night. I dig. I dig mucho. Weird thrashy punk stuff. Some stuff reminded me of Bearathon, but not much. Slow, light parts. Heavy intense parts. Funky beats. Me gusta.
Precinct Aflame was good as always. They're sooo tight. Stage presence is getting better. But Cooney still does his show boating thing. We get it man, you're an incredible guitarist.

\m/ Mucho Metal \m/

I finished out the night at John's, of course. Brent, Nikki, Johnny, and Sierra pretty much just ate and left. So I hung out mainly with Kali, Eli, and Emma.

John's couldn't fill me up.

And a bunch of the younger Erie kids showed up to John's too. Jokes and Steve went to the show, but Dan and Joel and others showed up after. And...

They all crammed into one booth. They're close I guess. Or gay...?

Went home, played biddeeo games with Cody and the Whiteness til 3 am, then woke up at 7 am to go fishing!


This is what we pulled up to at Elk Creek. Holy shit. So we peaced pretty quick and headed down the road to an almost equally crowded Rick Road Access at Elk Creek. Fished it out. Sierra caught one. After while we migrated to Mallory Run down by Woods' Farm where Johnny caught three and Sierra another two.


I fished with the exact same bait, in the exact same spots as them. We were out from 8 to 5...9 hours of fishing...and I caught not a damn thing. Oh well, first time out since I was 13. Next time will be better.

NOTE TO SELF: WADERS, SUNSCREEN, HAT.


P.S. Corey's back in town. John's party at 8. Come welcome the bastard home!

Still Here

The first steps have been taken. It's starting. I am stoked.


Next on the agenda...yanno.


And this is coming back...with a vengence. We're making Cody, Amber, and Tom play with us now.


Whitey and I each tackled one of these monstrosities yesterday, and Tom cleared one today. A foot long hot dog with cheese, greek sauce, ketchup, mustard, onions, peppers, and french fries on an italian roll: The Boro Dog. It was good. Tasty. Messy. Filling [obv.]. Two thumbs up!

The 2 Foot Boro Dog Challenge:

We're gearing up for this next Saturday. I'll keep you posted.


All of the above happenings have contributed to the current state of our apartment:

Shit happens. Everything can be cleaned.

Not looking forward to moving home. Not looking forward to moving my brother. Not looking forward to moving all my friends hahaha. But you know I'll do it. Love you guys.

Just Cause We're Down Doesn't Mean We Gotta Stay There

My dad would be proud. I'm trying to get back into all the things him and I used to do together. Namely, fishing and hunting. It's definitely harder now that he's not paying for it all though lol. I haven't been fishing since I was probably 13 or 14 with Jesse Irvin. Last fish I caught was a 23inch Wall Eye. So that was a good note to end on I'd say. I'm going to try to get my fishing license before Saturday for the opening day of trout. Once school is out I'll be making ACTUAL money, so I can get me a pole, tackle, lures, yanno... fishin stuff. Til then I'll be bumming equipment off Johnny and Brent.

Cory and I are also going in on a gun or two this summer. A shotgun for sure, maybe a rifle, and a handgun as our birthday presents to ourselves. I can't wait to get up at 4am to go sit still in the freezing cold, wet, dark woods and eat granola bars for breakfast.

I think hunting and fishing will be a totally different experience as an adult. As a kid, it was pretty much something to do with my dad. Father-son bonding. Now, I think it'll be more recreational and relaxing. I miss the woods. I miss the outdoors. The REAL outdoors. You know what I mean. Not to mention all the delicious fresh meat I'll hopefully be getting. Can't wait, let's go now!

On a different subject, I've gotten my semi-annual senior-itis. At the end of every semester, like a lot of students I'm sure, I just get a serious case of the NO-CARES. It's almost over, summer is RIGHT there, I don't care about school. I just want out. Not good, I know. trying to get it under control.

No pictures eh?

Kings Full Of Jacks

Why does there always have to be an activity planned? Why does there always have to be constant entertainment? Why can't we just hang out and talk? My brother and I do it all the time. Adam and I do it to most of the time. But for the most part, the rest of my friends always want something exciting and stimulating to be going on, other wise we can't just spend time together.

I know I probably bug people sometimes cause I'm ALWAYS trying to hang out, but I just like spending time with my friends. Sometimes, if you take a step back and look at everyone, it might appear that we're just together for entertainment. We're just people to have fun with. Which is part of what friends are, don't get me wrong. And I know that we have had those bond building times and talks. We're important to each other, no doubt. I just get worn out thinking of stuff to do to keep my friends around instead of going off with their girlfriends/boyfriends.

So this is how I spent last night.

Sitting on the porch spittin sunflower seeds with Brent. We go way back. Way way back. And I'm happy and proud to say that after 7 years, we're still friends. As good as ever. There's not many people I can say that about. My brother, obviously, Tyler James, Corey Wolfram, Lizz Guriel [though she moved and we've grown a little distant, I know I can still count on her. We haven't changed a bit.], Johnny Riot, and that's about where I draw the line. Those are my oldest friends, though we all had our ups and downs. A lot of faces have come and gone over the years, and I'm thankful for the friends that I have now, especially the ones that stuck around for so long.

Brent, Kate, Tom, Kimmi, Allison and I topped off the night with two six packs and a movie.

No complaints there.

OPEN INVITATION TO ALL THAT READ THIS:
Brent and I will commence the porch sitting and seed spitting tonight at 5 pm. Come sit. Come spit. Come shoot the shit.

Let's hang out.

Homesick and Hellbound

This is all the further I've progressed.

Only got a few things left. Only I could make dishes a three day project.

This is how I spent Easter :

Gram and all the foodz. Dinner was glorious as always.


My little cousin decided to sit on my lap and eat a whole plate of strawberries while lookin at me like a little creep.

Then, of course, the Easter Egg Hunt!!!


After a quick nap and dessert, Cory and I returned to Edinboro for a fire out at Cody and Brent's place with most of my friends.


I finally retired to my new bed.

It's comfy and I don't wake up with back pain. Booyah!

Easter - 8/10

Back to the grind


P.S. Do I use to many pictures?

Zombie Jesus

Yesterday turned out to be not so bad.

Woke up around noon, went to get breakfast at Perkins with Jane, Cory, Dave, McClune, and Josh. Jane went home for Easter.

Cory making a mess of his salad.

So me and the guys did what? Yeah, got four boxes of shells and went out into the woods and shot stuff, of course?!

We made Dave climb these vines, for no reason. And that was worth a few laughs......it doesn't take much to get me goin'.

I "worked" from 8:00 - 2:00 last night. It was the first time I worked with Hayes. Worked out pretty good. He's a solid dude. We hung out at his place and watched First Blood, ate pizza, and I taught him how to download music. And got paid. Booyah!


MORE OF THIS IN MY LIFE PLEASE. I MISS THESE GUYS.

So for today, I'll be tackling this monstrosity before heading to Erie for family time.

I think I've realized why I let them go so long. Cause I generally don't have shit to do on the weekends during the day. And what do you know?! A heap of dishes, I might as well wash 'em and kill some time.

Never Fades

More of this in my life, please.

There's nothing I love more than this. Playing music, playing shows, playing with my friends. We talked about it a little tonight and came to realize that though we've all been in other bands, this time it finally feels like a release. I think that's something a lot of musicians look for, or at least expect. I thought I had had it. I was wrong. Now it feels great.


Tonight was decent. Tomorrow will probably suck.


"Looking back I realize no matter what we said
Nothing could've changed the past
Was it all for nothing? I guess we'll never know
But all that's left are bridges burnt and lessons learnt"
- Champion, 'Looking Back'

Sedintary

Whitey. Gone. Adam. Gone. Tom. Gone. Amber. Gone. Kate. Gone. Jesus. Gone...he'll be back Sunday. Hahaha Easter. Get it? Shit ass dance party tonight over in the Wasteland.

Needless to say this weekend is gonna be pretty terrible.

All I've done today:

Cleaned up the face, Mortal Combat style.


Then destroyed China's food supply for 2009.

Probably gonna beat the shit out of my drums tonight.

Fouronce?

I don't know what it is about this school, or this town, or this part of Pennsylvania, or whatever, but it seems to me that there is a greater-than-average concentration of these kids that just try SOOO hard to be "unique", to be "individuals", to go against the grain, against social norms, to NOT "conform." It's fine to be whoever you want. I just don't like the pseudo-counter culture mentality of purposely trying to be different. It is so juvenile.

***

I was going to divide this into two parts, the "Indie Art Kids*/"Hipsters"** being one of them. I started to write that section, but no matter how nice and polite and accepting I tried to be, I just sounded like a close-minded, disrespectful, asshole. Which is only half true, half of the time. So I deleted it. Not cause I care about what you'd think, but because the more I thought about it, the more I realized it just doesn't matter.
I don't care how people dress. I don't care what people listen to. I don't care what people major in. I don't care if you bike, skate, or fly a fucking kite. Who you are has no effect on who I am. I'm not saying let's all be friends, cause that's just silly. You can't like everyone. Oh well. Don't be afraid to talk to me though.

So, that section still turned out real stupid. To many ideas flyin around to make sense of them. To summarize, if you fall into that category, or live at the "Dude Ranch", or ride a fixxy...you're okay with me.

The second group of people that I'm gonna talk about is more serious than some art kids. But I'll save it for the coming blogs cause this is to long already.

It's Friday. Let's have fun.

I still have miles to go.

*As they're known around here
**As the rest of the world refers to them

Just Like A New Day

This is pretty much how I start every day. Oatmeal w/brown sugar. Cooked past the point of soup, but not quite to the point of concrete. A nice soft paste texture. Sounds gross, but you can eat it fast and it's not messy. Still tastes good...and obviously stays in place.


Following breakfast, I started in on this pig. A short two page evaluation paper for Dr. Robert Hass [THE MAN]'s Eng. 101 class. She turned out nicely, if I do say so myself.


Upon showering and readying myself for class, I stepped outside to this pleasant surprise!!!

After class I took a little stroll to College Park, where I got myself one of them summer job things. Maintenance stuff. 8:00 - 4:00 Monday thru Friday. Perfect.

Skipped Philosophy. It was just a discussion day and Fowler doesn't take attendance. What a guy!

So I spent the last two hours doing this:

Yes, that's me in the top hat. Yes, I'm standing atop a sky-high pile of zombie bodies. Yes, that is a chainsaw.

Play: BODY LADDER


This one you won't like so much. It's harder. But you are a wall-jumping, high-flying, rocket dodging, gold hoarding ninja. I dig.

Play: N-Game

Now, I'm just waiting for my brother to get home so we can get dinner and hangout.

"Last shot at our mistakes, the time is now to set them straight.
With miles to go, will you take the risk?
The choice is yours, are you willing to take the chance?

With miles left to go, will you take the risk?
Because the only path to take is the hardest one to walk"
- Champion: Promises Kept - 'Miles To Go'



P.S. Kinda long for the first official blog?

Prologue

When I was younger, I had a xanga, and a livejournal, and whatever the new thing was that month. I used it to meet friends, keep in touch with old ones, and let everyone know what was going on in my life[this was before myspace, weird right?]. In other words, it was essentially the concept of social networking, just the beta version. But as much as I used it to stay connected with others, I also used it as an actual journal. I'd post about daily events, news, epiphanies, complaints, music/shows, or I'd just use it to organize my own thoughts. And I think as a kid I never appreciated the value of writing it all down.

So here I am. Twenty years old. Back on the proverbial "wagon". And this blog will serve the same purpose as the xangas, deadjournals, and livejournals before it: daily events, news, music/shows, pictures, epiphanies, and just to get everything out of my head and onto this psuedo-paper.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
- Robert Frost, 'Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening"