Sep 5, 2004
I have decided to switch full time over to live journal, because I like it more. www.livejournal.com/users/hiding_in_a_box should be the address. feel free to comment, either positive or negative, in that one. Posted at 06:29 pm by Vastikan
Aug 22, 2004
Woohoo! Im updating twice in a week.
I'll start with a little ol' work update. Thats all my life revolves around right now. Everyone is quitting, which is sad. At the same time, everyone is glad, because now we can all put the boardwalk behind us. I'll probly end up there again during winter, but going to try and find something better.
On thursday, three of us swam across the water, like we said we would. The others all bailed out, and surprisingly, they were all guys, who even took bets on whether I would too or not. If y'all have known me, then of course i was in.(See: Thailand trip and Chic Fil A incident.) So we swam across in our work clothes for fun. The ferry captain forced us to swim around behind him to get to the ladder, then gunned the motors, sending us into the bay. The chickens in the boat thought it was funny, I thought it was funny they were afraid of salty water. Someone took a picture, so maybe Ill get it and post it. Some day.
Friday was an IHOP night, I know its normal for kids to come in at 1am, but Im still surprised we weren't thrown out for our noise level. Yeah, even I was loud. See, theres ways to have fun and be sober simultaneously.
Other news: Got a new graphics card today, eventually I'll get it working right. Tomorrow Im going to get a new car radio I think.
I love having a pay check. Posted at 01:21 am by Vastikan
Aug 13, 2004
I Pretend I Update More Often Than I really Do
Howdy Blog, I figured I have put off updating this thing long enough. Heres my recent excuses: Telling myself I'll update after my doc appt(twice), Work is taking up too much time(many times), Hanging out with friends including CECILIA(hah! I didnt forget), also used that one a few times. But in the end, it all boils down to the same ol thing, QT is L-A-Z-Y. Im working on fixing that, but these things take time, or so I pretend.
Anyways.. whats up with QTs life? Did he die of hernias?
Nope, Im alive and mostly well, though I swear Im slowly falling apart. Doc says itd be safe to wait on the hernias til beginning of next summer. He was a pretty arrogant guy. In other words very Texan, and thats before I mention the plaid shirt, expensive cowboy boots, and the stetson hat hanging in the office. Not kidding. In other doctor type news, I finally got my mole thing checked out. The one that suddenly grew and got infected. The skin doctor, who was cool and very Thai (once he found out I knew some he was much nicer and tried to convince me to live there and marry a Thai girl from his hometown. He thinks the moles on my back are some sort of horoscope, that thats another story. Funny guy), decided it needed to be killed because he couldnt be sure if it was cancerous or not, so I got that cut out today. I thought it was cool when he pulled out the soldering iron thing and burned it, smoking up the room, but I'll regret it tomorrow when Im at work and sweat gets into it.
Work for QT? Yep, Im back working, although found I couldnt do one of the rides cause it strains some kind of muscle around where I had surgery. No biggie though. It stinks that a few are already leaving, the ones I've become friends with. Some going to school, some joining the military, others getting better jobs. I think only the high schoolers, Comm. Coll. kids, and teen parents are staying. Im glad to a degree Im leaving though. Its definitely a job you dont want to keep forever. Its a nice place to visit, but I wouldnt want to make a career out of it.
Extra-curricular activities! Hung out with CECILIA(ooooo, fit you in twice!) at the bowling alley, and beat her twice. :-P I've also joined a group of guys that are regularly playing poker. I was horrible to start, having never played Texas Hold 'em, but I like to think Im doing a LOT better. Its harder than it looks on TV. Sunday I host, and parents promise to add to the jackpot since it'll be my birthday. Only 1 more year til legality. Sure, QT will drink a little, and I look forward to it, but believe me, I wont make it an obession or a hobby. Poker is cheaper and its harder to kill yourself on the drive home. Unfortunately, you only learn some lessons the hard way, whether its when you lose friends, or you agree to a stupid drinking game and go to far.
Nikelle, your so lucky its cold where you are. I would trade Houston's heat/humidity for that any day!
Hmm...with that, I guess I'll end this. I promise it wont be so long til my next update. Then again, I have a short memory. :)
Posted at 01:01 am by Vastikan
Jul 22, 2004
Before I left for our family's 2 week vacation to virginia, I promised myself I'd stay as far away from the internet as possible. Unfortunately, I ended up breaking the rule I never wrote. Then again, there were a few things I wasn't counting on that happened.. Now, I've been given limitations to what I can do. Anyways, theres good news and bad news. Lets start with the good.
Good:
1. Since my last update, my dad hasn't had another stroke. Or at least none big enough to notice or any that we are aware of. Thats on top of my Good things list.
2. I was forced to slow down and hang out with a cousin and good buddy, who I love very much, but at the same time, its hard to remember to spend time with him. You see, he's got cerebal paulsy in the worst way. That means, no talking(or the kind we are used to), no eating real food, and no real control over any motor skills. Yeah, that means walking is out of the question. Anyways, that translates into usually having to be creative to keep him (hes a couple months younger than me, so its not like hes a lil kid who can be easily entertained with peek-a-boo) to keep everyone included and having fun at the same time. Recently, due to my little experience, I ended up along the sidelines, watching everyone else work, and play, and do normal things, so I got to experience, sort of, what he has to go through every day of his life. It was a little more of an understanding, even though I grew up with him. It also went both ways I think, since he yelled as loud as he could to get someone to drive him to the hospital to see me, because he knows all too well what it feels like. So me and Ryan hung out a bit, and that was a cool feeling.
3. I' on the better half of my first recovery("first?!" you say? see: Bad news)
Bad:
1. This is the side that sucks. Friday I woke up at 5am(first clue. usually im up at noon ;) ) with a belly ache. By noon I was sick beyond sick and my family didnt know what was wrong with me. I wont go into detail. Just believe me when I say sick. Finally I'm driven crosstown (down the roller coaster 2-lane road out of the mountain first) to the ER and Im in surgery by 9pmish. The surgeon yanks out the biggest appendix hes ever seen, about ready to explode, then staples my belly button to cover his tracks.
2. During his yanking the appendix procedure he notices I have a big hernia on one side. According to him and my parents, Im going to see another surgery room in the near future.
3. During the yanking the appendix and spotting a big hernia, the doctor notices a spot on the other side opposite the hernia where he figures I'll eventually have another hernia.
4. Being told by the doctor, then reminded in 5 minute intervals since then, that I cant lift anything larger than a milk carton(apparently my family took that to mean a pint sized version), and I can't swim, among other things. Although they didn't need to tell me twice since getting out of bed took more energy and pain than sprinting 10 miles. Anyone who tells me being stuck in bed is better than helping my grandmother move is sadly mistaken. You have no idea.
5. Getting the freaking staples out on Wednesday.
6. No work til August 2nd. Another point in the bad that I'm sure some would put in the good, but seriously, work is the only thing that keeps me sane when I'm home with family. :-)
Other:
Felt like I needed to add the above word so this part didnt seem like part of the bad news. :)
Don't pity me too much. Now that I've gotten the staples out, I'm a heckuva lot better. I can keep up with most everybody, and I can put up with Ryan making fun of my defective-looking belly button. Guess now that I'm not in real pain anymore(aka: walking and soon swimming will be possible) I'll milk this 'I cant carry any heavy stuff' asd long as I can. Moving my grandmother was completed during my hospital stay, so now the jobs I can get out of are the fun things, like carrying my own luggage. Chuckie the Baggage Handler. Hmm...that has a nice ring to it. ;-)
(Chuckie = lil brother)
Ouch, that garbage bag looks heavy. Is that a milk carton I see in there? No I don't care if it's empty, I think that means I can't Carry it. Yep, definitely.
Doctor's orders. Posted at 10:57 pm by Vastikan
Jul 5, 2004
Life moves on. Eh, mostly work. I've got a great outline of a watch on my wrist after a cloudless fourth of july. Thats what I get for volunteering to work 14 hours on the busiest day of the year.
Saw Spiderman 2, the supposed 'best comic turned movie ever'. It was good, but not nearly that good. I laugh when people whine about the credibility of movies like that. Its a COMIC. Its supposed to be cheesy.
By the way, Dad ended up in the ER room. They did a couple hundred thousand tests on him, but havent come up with anything. Pretty frustrating when you see my dad doing something as simple as a puzzle and you can still tell hes not running on all cylinders.
Hmm, there you go Foxworthy - You might be a redneck if...you use nascar terms in everyday life.
Posted at 11:08 pm by Vastikan
Jun 13, 2004
I literally am one. Working outside does that to you. A couple of thoughts(working on shortening my posts)
-Work: Got rehired at Kemah. I complain along with everyone else about heat, boredom, stupid people etc, but the truth is, it aint so bad. Ive met quite a few new people and enjoy hanging around them. even if it means i have to keep my foot on a pedal every second of the way for 8ish hours.
-Summer School: eh heh. Was planning on taking Economics 1, but I dont remember the deadline, and havent really tried to figure it all out.
-Wisdom: Teeth removed. That sucked for weeks. then I was threatened with a stack of tongue depressors. That got me to work on stretching my jaw muscles back in shape..
-Dad: The worst part is, I dont know what to believe, about whats wrong with him. Supposedly he might be having a series of small strokes or something. He acts different now. Seemingly opposite of his normal self, the one I talked to less than a week ago. Mumbling, forgetful, and all around not making sense at all. Then theres the fact that my mom is over analyzing his every action. Maybe we are just paranoid? I hope. Everytime I hear 'stroke' I see Papa again. My dad's dad.
Posted at 01:24 am by Vastikan
May 12, 2004
Its the end of a lot of things and the beginning of a few others, so I'll fill you in..
The End: Its the end of the school year, end of finals, and most notable, the end of my stay in Lubbock for months. Its also the end of having Mechanical Engineering as my major, but I'll get into that in a second.
Finally, finals have ended. The staying up thing and studying and studying..and a bite to eat between studying and slee- oh wait, none of that.. Overall I was pretty happy with my overall performance. I thought I did pretty well in 3 of 4 exams. I kind of slacked off on studying for my math exam, since its supposedly the easy math class, and kind of paid for that mistake. I completely forgot how to do some things. At least knowing I positively got an A(History of Rock and Roll), B(Math, whew), and a C(Public Policy) makes me feel better. Now I just have to sweat out History and Economics. Unfortunately Im down on my knees hoping for a C in Econ, and History I got a 127/150 on my exam, its just a matter of whether my teacher is in a good mood or bad mood when he calculates. Literally. That scares me. I should get a B. I hope.
As I sort of alluded to above, I made a decision regarding my future. I faced the facts and went with the idea of ditching ME for Business, hopefully International Business eventually. Of course, this is all based on the theory that I can raise my GPA from a 2*cringe* to a 2.75. Please dont ask how it got that low. It shouldnt matter to you, the deal is, Im going to fix that major mistake and eventually, noone will remember that I stooped to such a level.
Classes Im taking in the fall: German1(5 cred class), Stats(3), Econ2(3), and Chem Lab(1-retaking after i failed). Im also looking to take a business class in San Jac this summer, which I cant take right now at TTU because of my GPA.
Another subject in the 'end' category is my year in Lubbock. Sure, its a desolate, and at many times a very boring place, but at the same time, its my refuge away from my real home, and old friends. I finally start to meet people, only just in time for them to scatter back across the state. Now im back doing chores I dont want to do, and even though spending time with family can be fun, it can get old. Driving people places, not being able to stay up as late as I want and still be as loud as I want.(This house goes to sleep before 10pm and its driving me nuts. I havent been here for more than 48 hours). Ive become greedy. I want to do what I want to do, and try to get parents to pay for it. How sad is that? Id rather be working somewhere else living in a different house so I dont slip into bad habits and start depending on parents. My mom cleaned up my room today when I wasnt around. I thought Id lost my marbles before I realized that other people touch my stuff again. The finals stress ends, and the family stress begins.
Of course with every end there is a beginning. You can probably figure out most of mine. Just think opposites. Besides the fact I already described the other half above.
Summer, ah 'free' time and no school. Im glad thats not how it works. Friends or no friends, eventually that would become boring and Id get cabin fever. Im looking forward to work. I got a pleasant surprise today when I got rehired at Kemah. Along with their new rides and renovations, they decided to boost our pay from 5.50 to 6.00 That makes the decision to go back an easier one. The only reason I hesitated was because of pay. Besides that I enjoy hanging out with the people at work. Derrick, Bobby, Liz, Casey, Sheena, Eugene, and even Chris, Dave, and JZ are a welcome change to an otherwise boring summer life. I'll also get to meet the new people who are going to work and laugh at them when they screw up where I screwed up when I first joined.
Who can pass on driving the Train?? Also to keep things going I think Ill take at least 1 summer school class. It will keep me from getting too far behind and hopefully raising my GPA at the same time. Why not? Another thing I look forward to is the family's annual summer vacation. Traditionally we all drive up to Virginia to meet my awesome relatives. This year though, Ive been hearing about a rumor that involves me getting to go fly up on my own to visit Drew. Ive got tons of miles from flying to/from S'pore. Drew is my Mom's Sisters son. Hes almost exactly my age and forever we have been mistaken for as brothers and even twins when we were little. Hes up in Nashville going to a year round school to become an auto mechanic and get a job in-- you guessed it --NASCAR. Hes a ton closer than me, since hes in a school where the professors get called by team owners asking about students, and hes at the top of his class. I cant deny the jealousy, but itd be awesome to get to hang out with him for a week or so and not be held back by those old people. :-)
On to other random notes..
Today was a true test. A band of crazy strong thunderstorms managed to sweep through just as I got in my car to return home from Kemah. I dont know if I ever mentioned here about my past 2 experiences about driving in the rain, but its left my parents scared stiff of me driving out in wet weather now, and I have been a bit terrified. What if I do the same thing again? Id never be able to drive a car owned by my parents again. Anyways, yeah. I was in my sister car that just returned from Lubbock, the town made of Dust. So the inside of the windshield is opaque to begin with, then you add an insane amount of constant water and what do you get? One minute everything was fine, the next, I couldnt see the yellow line in front of the white bumper. Somehow I managed to make it to the Red Bluff/146 intersection, without hitting anyone. But as I started to try to stop behind a line of dim red lights that made up the left turn lane line of cars I doubted in my abilities, and jumped to the right lane and turned right and drove off the road and sat for a while. I could open my window and stick my hand out and e dry because the rain was blowing sideways. It was crazy bad. Once I managed to wipe crap off with my now brown TTU hat and decided the rain must be letting up because it was actually coming down more straight. So i continued on Red Bluff. I pulled off one more time, then I heard the radio do the Emergency sound and announce a Tornado spotted in Conroa and another possible one in League City. I figured itd be better to keep on going. Somehow, somehow, I didnt hit anything or skid any(Or I wont admit it if I did) on my way home. Of course its barely raining in my neighborhood as an ocean is dropped on the rest of Houston. Apparently my mom, who had been out, had been calling home every 5 minutes to ask if I got home. Im glad I didnt have a cell phone, or Id never have gotten home with the constant ringing, or a parent in my ear if I actually was stupid enough to answer it. Anyways, Im safe from the rain, for now.
Last Note, I swear. These posts will get shorter trust me, just wait til things become duller.
I saw the coolest thing today. After my sister's concert, we walked out of CLHS. On the right was the sun setting. For some reason there was no clouds over there so is spread this off yellowish color across the sky. On my left was the rainstorm, furiously beating upon the ground with all its might, yet with the suns rays, it wasnt dark at all. What made this sight so cool was the Huge complete rainbow arc that crossed the sky on my left, almost encircling the storm that was literally shooting lightning bolts across the sky in every direction. For some reason, the hundreds of lightning bolts showing clearly above the trees didnt manage to reach outside the rainbow, which was clear as day, during dusk. I had the video camera hanging in my hand, but to me it was useless. I dont think any camera could hae done that sight justice. It shed some light on more things than one, in my mind. And I'll leave you with that picture in your head, since I can think of nothing better. Posted at 12:39 am by Vastikan
May 5, 2004
I dont have the time to write an entry, but I got this message from my dad on sunday. One can conversation with your parents can shove you 10 steps forward, especially when you unconsciously take a few backwards. Thanks.
I was thinking about you after I hung up. I dunno if this comes under the catagory of advice or just an observation, but here goes.
I get the feeling that you are thinking that there might not be anything at college you want. I think this because you said, "I want to be outside and work with my hands, build things, etc, etc". At least that's what I heard (and you know my hearing is not so good, never mind about my listening skills.)
Anyway, in light of that thought, here's something to consider.
I have never met anyone that said, "I should not have taken the time to go to college, or I wish I had not gotten a degree in. . . " But I have met several people, that I work with daily that say, "I wish I had gone to college, or I wish I had finished college". Lots of them, in fact the majority of them.
What I'm trying to say is, if you finish college, in any subject you choose, you will have lost nothing, and possibly gained something. What you will have gained is things like, a sense of accomplishment (it takes work to finish), some years under your belt to mature (seems a harsh thing to say, but I guess I mean you will have gained a different perspective on what is important in life), and you will have checked a box in your lifes experience that will make you worth more to others (if you decide to work for someone else, and also if you work for yourself selling something to others). What do I mean by that? you are thinking. . .
I was watching Larry King live the other night. All the people from Donald Trump's "the apprentice" were on. One of the guys who did not win, who everyone thought could have/should have won did not have a college degree. But he was way smarter and seemed much more a winner than many of the others. Donald Trump offered to pay for his college education on the spot, so he could compete and not have that problem ever again. Trump said, if he had a college degree he probably would have won. That guy jumped at the chance. Here he is, 25 or so, at the top of his game, just off a primetime TV show, and he was thanking Trump for the opportunity to go to college. Makes you stop and think. Why is that?
Now I hate Trump myself. But what he said was a representation of the society we live in. A college degree might not open the door of opportunity, but the lack of one can close the door. Any college degree is a ticket to move forward. The lack of one will be an anchor on whatever you want to do with your life.
So, it truly does not matter the subject you choose to study. It matters if you finish what you started. Pick something you like and stick it through, no matter what anyone tells you. You are your own boss now. Make every minute of your life from here on out count. Go for your goal, be it NASCAR or whatever. Just don't wait for something to happen, because it most likely never will without your making it happen. Read that Larry McReynolds book again. He worked hard, and after putting himself totally into what he was going, he got the break. If he had been just sitting and waiting at the junk yard, nothing would have happened. Same for everyone else I see in Nascar including those with relative ability. Kerry Earnhardt hasn't made it. Why not? Maybe he doesn't want it bad enough. Do you? Plan your streategy and movve on it. Adjust it if it doesn't work for you. Just don't wait.
I have faith in you and so does your mom. Go for it.
Love, Dad
Posted at 02:38 pm by Vastikan
May 3, 2004
As of 6pm, the quiet began. 24 hours a day, until finals are over, supposedly. It is of course the quiet before the storm. A wave of the inevitable. Im tested over my ability to retain information from my 'easy' classes and Im also being tested over my ability to make decisions. Hopefully I make the right one tomorrow, and I wont regret the path that I take. No matter what, Im determined to reach my goal, although I think it will take a lot longer than I figured. A lot of studying ahead of me...
Past few days -
Thurs. and Friday were all about HFH. We had some fun putt-putting and just talking in general, along with free pizza, which makes anything better. Found out Joey, the bassist for WatermelonFastBass and Soul Pajamas works over there, and we talked for a bit. Friday was Arbor Day, where Organizations are recognized, then they go and plant plants around the campus. We had some fun hanging out, amongst the rest of HFH, but you could tell we are all ready for this semester to end. Projects and Studying made quite a few look like zombies, but it was still a good thing to get away from our rooms, and in some cases, our classes, for just a few hours and complain.
Saturday. Hung out for a while and watched South Park, tried to keep away from the nipple twisting, stumbling, dumbass drunken form of James. I swear that kid has problems. At least this time he only managed to drop a cell phone in a cup of Jack, instead of ruining a TV and PS2. That was a couple of weeks ago.
Sometime during the weekend I decided to reorganize my buddylist. Ok, I know this sounds like a sad excuse to avoid studying, but for some reason it felt like a productive thing to do at the time. It was actually pretty interesting, putting possible deactivated screen names in 'Invisible Friends', moving used to be friends to 'Others' While some I moved from there to 'Friends'. Its kind of funny to see the list of people I used to talk to, that have now become nonexistant, and at the same time, the list of people I knew from way back when that are still near the top. Ah, how times change..
Sunday. sucked. Managed to keep parents off my back, sort of, and at the same time, got 2 quizzes out of the way. Still need to figure out half of my finals schedule. Ugh, schedule. I hate that word right now..
Nascar Update:
Bah, Jeff won for the 2nd weekend in a row. Kudos to Casey and Brendan though.
On a side note, no matter how old Rusty is getting, theres no way he's getting Rusty. Just some bad luck. And Tony Stewart. Got quite a laugh out of his comments about Tony. You tell him where to put that finger Rusty! Im glad theres at least one person who still speaks his mind and will never suck up to Nascar. If they fine you, send em some more pennies! Posted at 12:57 am by Vastikan
Apr 28, 2004
Redo: The First One After The Last Fix-it But Before The Remake
The one freakin time I dont copy my post before I sumbit it in case it doesnt work, and, yep, you guessed it. Its gone. So I'll summarize....later. You can hear more about my lovely week when it ends and I dont feel like studying. Hopefully it will be a bit better by then. In lighter news, I stole this from Mary.(Congrats on survivng finals week!). I've determined I'll only admit to three of them being close to true. I like putting in random things, it entertains me when I need to distract myself from awful things like sleep. *Looks down at the time and laughs, then remembers roomie is sleeping and decides to snicker instead.* Gotta love the sleeping disorder. Its part of the College Student package. Its only an added 5.99 on S&H. You can buy your disorder today! Free with any textbook purchase over $500.
Anyways, heres that thing I stole I mentioned before I got carried away in yet another distraction. Enjoy plugging random names in. It can be fun if your as bored as I get. :)
Note: I couldnt get it to work, and its around 5amish, so if you really want to know whats connected to my 'username', type it in on Mary's site. I'll deal with the rubbishness later.
My username is Vastikan.
-Vastikan woohoo, now its down 3 times in as many lines. :)
Posted at 05:06 am by Vastikan
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