An update long in coming

It's been about a month since I last updated, which is regrettably a long time. A lot has happened, and I will attempt to tell you ALL about it in a few paragraphs.

School ended for me on April 22nd. I went camping for a few days with Randi, Yvette, Joel and Blair. Cliff jumped at Cultus Lake. Then a bunch of us went to Playland in Vancouver for a day. It felt weird, but very good, to be able to enjoy time with my friends without homework commitments. On the following Wednesday, Blair, Conner, Randi and I went down to Seattle for me to meet my family with whom I've been since (except for a brief time on Saturday when I went to Blair's house).

Right now I'm listening to my newest favorite band, power-pop group Forever The Sickest Kids (FTSK) while leeching free wireless broadband on Vancouver Island. It's vacation time, but I'm busying myself with working on one of my websites (a recent layout change has increased my profits by almost 100%!) and writing for a paid blogging site. Dollar dollar bill, ya.

This city's made us crazy.

I miss the hot, stale summer air in the city. I miss the breeze trickling through the skyscrapers of downtown Honolulu. I miss sitting on the back steps, watching cars go by and waiting for my best friend to get home from work. I miss getting loss among the city lights in a Mini Cooper that couldn't contain our summer songs. I miss blowing smoke at the stars at ten past three when the buses stopped running and we were still miles from our apartment. I miss the weekends exploring random neighborhoods; crawling through graveyards; scaring ourselves silly trying to catch a peek at the oh-so-elusive Masons (who aren't nearly as frightening as they seem). I miss warm oceans and even warmer sand. I miss the banality of work and fun, over and over and over again. I miss telling myself that I shouldn't stay out so late because I'm always so tired in the morning, and then doing it again. I miss lying awake in the dark, talking to each other about our plans and our future, and then cracking jokes about things only we would understand. I miss not knowing what will happen tomorrow, because that's what makes life worth it. I miss walking under freeways, watching a thousand cars whiz by as my ice cream melts in my hand. I miss the beach at midnight. I miss feeling comfortable with my friends, knowing that we have each other forever and ever. Or, at least, until the summer ends.

And it ended.

Quote of the Day

Scott Raab in Esquire:

I'd like to ask Al Gore, "How the f--- do you still walk the Earth after handing the keys to the White House to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney? I don’t want to hear about Nader and Florida. You lost Tennessee and West Virginia. How on earth do you not disembowel yourself? Take your f------ Nobel Prize and drop dead."

Speaking of politics, I am in one of my last Political Studies classes for the semester. The one I'm in right now is an introduction to Canadian politics. Half the time, we talk about American politics. That just goes to show who's superior. My friend likes to tell me that "Canada is still on top." I like to respond that yes, Canada is on top, but the U.S. does all the work. And you know it's true!

Senior Year Planning

Today, I had classes and then Joel, Jasmine and I went to eighteen-27. It is a really trendy-feeling martini bistro about 10 minutes away from our university. The vibe there is pretty fantastic. We didn't drink (although they did have mocktails), since we're "on contract," but we got some very delicious foods. Jasmine got stuffed chicken breast, and Joel and I got pasta.

After dinner, Joel and I hung out and sipped tea and planned all our future escapades. I'm actually excited for senior year, now. It will be a lot of fun.

I don't really have anything witty or interesting to say, other than that this article is very inspiring. It's from the latest issue of Esquire.

Read the last half. Perfection!

When I was in college, I tried to write fiction. My stories sort of sounded good -- good imagery and cadence and word choice -- but they had nothing to say. They went nowhere. I was a young kid with good intentions, with a love of typing. But I knew nothing of the world. I knew nothing about myself. That’s why I was drawn to journalism -- for the material. The stories were there, ready made. I just had to find and reconstruct.

But as we all know, there is one huge problem with journalism:

The truth sometimes gets in the way of a good story.

I WON A CAR (sort of)

So at the auto show, we all entered into the drawing and joked about how cool it would be if one of us won a car.

Well, I'm a finalist.

1 of 12 people out of the thousands that went this weekend.

How crazy is that?

But I turned it down.

Goodbye, free car.

Pierced.

I had a good day yesterday. Joel, Jasmine and I went to Vancouver for the auto show. Talk about car lust!! It made my heart beat faster, that's for sure. We also went out to a pretty deck Italian restaurant with the whole candle-lit ambience. Very classy. After dinner and the auto show, we spent about three or four hours just running around downtown Vancouver.

Halfway through the night, we ended up in a really nice tattoo parlour and piercing shop. Joel and Jasmine heaped on the peer pressure hardcore. Joel was like, pushing me toward the counter (literally). Anyway, I got a piercing on the top of my right ear. Totally an impulse buy, which Jasmine and Joel know that I'm bad at. Haha.

We almost ended up staying the night in Vancouver because it was so late, but decided not to and caught one of the last skytrains back, and then taxi'd it back to campus (we didn't know anyone who had a car and wanted to come pick us up).

It was all around an awesome evening. Blair didn't come, which bummed me out pretty bad, but that's ok.

Today I have leadership meetings all afternoon. Busy busy busy.

(PS I'm seriously angry that I'm in this stupid linguistics class that I don't need anymore. Gah!)

Last day of classes for the week

Crazy busy week. I started it on Sunday by cleaning my room and making everything very neat and organized. "Finally," I thought, "I am worthy enough to subscribe to Real Simple." By Monday, all that went out the window and my couch and desk are once again covered in various academic refuse.

On Tuesday, I had two major papers due. Thus, in the three days leading up to the dreaded deadline, I borrowed approximately 53 books from the library (not counting the books I read while studying in the library). I felt a sense of psychological elation akin to joining brahma as I dropped all 53 books into the library's return bin.

I also had a group project on Wednesday, but that was postponed because my professor talked too long.

Tonight I have my dreaded Linguistics class. He goes over the end of class time by 20 minutes every night. It's a three hour class, how much longer can someone talk continuously?! He has the tongue of a greek god, I tell you. Gah. I have calculated that, by the end of the semester, we will have spent a whole extra three hours in that class. You could look at it two ways. First, you could say that it's great because it's like a whole free class. OR you could see it like how it really is: Awfully boring, terribly frustrating, and very fruitful at providing bushels of wasted time. BUSHELS.

This weekend I am going to Yaletown (not sure if it's one word or two words, I'm a tourist; forgive me!) and the International Auto Show in Vancouver. Car lust (think they'd sell a hybrid vimāna?) and great friends, what more does a guy need? I'm also going to hand out leaflets to protest how the Mars candy company kills and tortures animals.

Big news of the morning: it is decided. I am graduating next year. Spring 2009, here I come. That means next semester is my last semester at Trinity Western University. Kind of depressing, really. But look on the brightside: I will finally have a roommate that I'll like, if only for four months. :(

Right now my professor is talking about special interest lobby groups. I think I want to join one. It sounds exciting. Affecting change without having to be elected, getting politicians to buy you stuff so you like them, expensive dinners and parties, oh-so-corrupting power, and a scandal every year or two. That's the life for me!