Why is the Past So Much Fun?

Looking at some old pics from the last few years (as I often do being a sentimental bitch), I find myself thinking back on how much pure fun I've had since my second semester of college. From being in plays at Oakton to working at Old Navy to my adventures with Molly to poker nights to late night Tony Hawk sessions just hours before Rebels baseball games with Steve to meeting Vicky to Derrick's engagement to crazy hormonally charged drinking parties to hilarious videos of my friends and I drunk on couches talking about 'having a little captain in us... and by 'captain' I mean 'Smirnoff'... Captain Smirnoff!'

...

Anyway. It all brings me back to the fact that youth is pretty much gone. I'm in a pretty damn serious relationship with Vicky, about to move to another city away from all these memories... and away from all these friends...

I love Vicky more than anything. She makes me happy to be me. This is why I think we've stayed together this long. I want to end up with her. For good. It's inevitable in the path we're on... But that's just it. This path just further reminds me that my youth is ending.

Again, let's take a look at what I'll be leaving behind in photos... Some non-serious drunken flirtations and innocent heavy petting... Yeah. That's it alright. Obviously not worth giving up on a real solid future for. Duh. That's not on question here. The problem is that freedom of my youth, the ability to do things with little or no consequence, will be gone.

Classic trials and tribulations of growing up. I feel like a child by even going through this, but my god did those photos contain some fun times... I'm sure there will be many more, many different types of photos. Who knows? Maybe some innocent petting and flirtations are still to come... I'm just hoping I can live with everything that's about to happen.

Now Playing: American Analog Set - "A Schoolboy's Charm"

Some Pondering...

So don't ask me why, but I thought today for a few minutes that I had the money to blow on a really nice vacation. I was on some travel sites for a while before I started to ask myself; What in the name of panties do I need a vacation from?

Good question.

The fact that I am usually quite exhausted aside, I have a relatively stress-free job and life for that matter. However, my body today was telling me I badly needed a quick vacation before heading off to live and work in L.A. Maybe it was the fact that I dropped of my brother at O'Hare this afternoon so he could fly to the Pacific Northwest for his vacation that made me think of our time in New Orleans last winter. That trip was short, sweet, relatively inexpensive and really recharged me for the upcoming year I think. It made me want to plan a surprise vacation for Vicky and I. I stared with the cheap trips, places here in the contiguous states. After checking in on San Fransisco, Orlando, Boston, etc... I started to think, 'Wow. The U.S. is boring.' That made me think about my incessant desire to travel abroad...

Well, after just a few clicks, I then realized that paying $6,000 for a 5 day vacation was not my idea of 'relaxation' and high-tailed it out of the interwebs for a while as I suddenly was brought back down to earth. I am not in the position of planning a vacation right now. More pressing matters lay ahead in the immediate future. I do plan on making this vacation happening, however. I really think I will benefit from it despite not necessarily needing it and I think that Vicky will need it when this semester is all said and done. Plus, it would recharge her for her final semester as a college student.

I watched 'The Last Temptation of Christ' this weekend as my brother snored on the couch and still cannot get over how odd that film was. Man. Good thing I'm not religious.

Horribly torn between 3 professional equipment purchases...
- $2,200 SteadyCam/FlyCam unit with harness (probably $3,000 after monitor purchase)
- $600-$1,200 digital SLR
- $2,000 M2 RedRock 35mm lens adapter bundle (plus $$$ in different size lenses) for my HVX

I suppose I should decide first whether or not I am going to keep my HVX or upgrade to a better (and much more expensive) camera. Perhaps just sell the entire system I have built after training on a new SteadyCam and become a strictly freelance SteadyCam operator.

I suppose I have something to do at work tomorrow.

Now Playing: Peter Gabriel - "It Is Accomplished"

HOLY LIVING FUCK. MAN LANDS ON FUCKING MOON.

At least that was the first thing I thought of after Barack Obama became the President Elect. Not only will the Republicans FINALLY be out of office after 8 years of tyranny, but the view of the United States will change almost over night. As much as I will continue to say that race (besides the many cultural significances) does not mean much to me, the fact that our nation is not represented by detached, ignorant, rich white man can only be a boon to our society on the whole. Granted, we are represented by a detached, rich black man, but still... At least he is not ignorant and white. I'm not sure if it has sunk in yet, but I for some reason just feel like the entire world is going to have to do a double take for a while once President Barack Obama begins his tenure.

Nonetheless, this was a great day. For the first time since I began voting, my vote not only made feel as though I helped bring about change, but it made me feel pride in being an American. Pride. If you know anything about me, you know that I usually couldn't care less about the fact that I am an American aside from the fact that we have access to the nicest toys. The President of the United States come February will be an African American man. However, the best part of this whole election wasn't that a black man is now President, but that everyone seemed to understand that that was not the issue at hand. What was at hand was that the best person for the job won and that a candidate was put forward that made us feel proud to vote for who we did. Great. Day.

I was quite surprised, reading past posts from November of 2004, that I did not say WORD ONE about the election. Despite the fact I had a foreboding feeling that Bush would TROMP Kerry, it was my first election. That should have been a bigger deal to me. Perhaps the fact that I wasn't (or still am) very political had much to do with it. Or maybe I knew that I didn't know enough to justify forwarding an opinion. Nonetheless, my surprise with my former self notwithstanding, it was a sad election back then. It was an overall sad year for me, personally, and maybe that crushing defeat just seemed par for the course, I suppose.

Anyway, I'm winding down my last shift of the week here and I was just pondering about how different living here may be now... And I was thinking about how fucking hilarious Joss Wheadon and Nathan Fillion are together on the commentary for Firefly. Good guys.

Now Playing: Miles Davis - "Moon Dreams"

Post-Halloween Work Day...

Yesterday was Halloween and today is the day I am at work when I don't want to be. Working on a saturday is not something I enjoy... HOWEVER. I AM watching 'Spirited Away' online in an attempt to explain to my co-workers my EXCELLENT costume last night.

Last night Vick and I started off at a garage band party at her friend's house and had a great time. Really surprisingly good stuff. The middle band's front man was dressed like The Dude from 'The Big Lebowski' and played the tenor sax and flute. It was an event. The third and final band was the most cohesive and 'radio-friendly' I suppose. The drummer was truly excellent and for me the high light of the band. It was a great time.

After that, we headed off to Lynn and Angie's place for the next party. Walking down Clark was a pretty fun obstacle what with my costume being over 6 feet tall. I was hitting branches left and right and had no field of vision above people's shoulders. Still, it was an excellent attention-getter. Dancing with my costume was truly fun because the mask was on wires so it moved a little after I did. I wish I could have seen what I was feeling. It was fun.

...and my Orange Dreamsicles were tasty as the dickens.

Now Playing: Spirited Away @ work while the students don't exist.