Thursday, September 14, 2006

Energy Day
I'm Twenty? Jeez, I still feel 15. A lot of people say that the day I "grow up", the youth in their lives decreases immensely. Apparently, I'm "the kid". I've always been "the kid". When "the kid" grows up, the younger years disappear. And THAT'S why I'll never grow up. *laughs*


The birthday was awesome. Eating meat was double awesome. I went to a Mongolian Grill restaurant and had beef, pork and chicken in my first serving and put all three meats into my mouth at once so there wasn't any bias towards any animal. Then I had lamb afterwards because it's special. Aside from a bit of udon thrown in for birthday's sake, I ate nothing but meat for lunch. No rice, no veggies, just 100% dead innocent animal.


For dinner, some relative came over so we could all feast on BBQ pork and Cantonese Chow Mein, two dishes I missed extremely much. I receieved some cash, a webcam, some good headphones for use with my drumkit, and....


.....leopard print bedsheets.


...silk ones.


Yes, I'm a 20 yr old sex-hungry jungle-boy bachelor. *laughs*

Not really.. but the sheets are pretty sweet.



And here are the headphones:





Finally... Headphones with bass. The sound quality from my drumkit is so so SO much better coming from these badboys, and NOT from computer speakers or crud headphones. I'm quite happy with them.




I don't think I need to show you my webcam. The evidence is there in the last two pics. However I do want to share this...


...okay. Let me explain first.


you know when you wake up one day and you're just spilling with energy? Well yesterday (Wednesday), I drummed up a storm all day long. And when I was resting from drumming, I did this:

SHE IS BEAUTIFUL


Okay. After watching something like that, you're probably thinking "Josh is a fuckin' psycho". If you're familiar with Andrew W.K., the way I "move" will make a bit more sense. (I do recommend watching the REAL video before or after to truly understand what I'm doing.)

I'm probably going to lose many friends because of this... *laughs* But I'm sure many of you let loose just like I do. Honestly, doesn't it feel awesome?

Even after explaining myself, you're all probably still thinking I'm a psycho. Well, maybe YOU need to let loose.



Just let the music take you. You'll end up crazy like me!



Cheers.

- enin -


P.S. I think I'm enjoying the webcam a bit TOO much....

P.P.S. I told you Andrew's my idol. What did you expect? J-Pop? *laughs*


Con report = EVENTUALLY
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Friday, September 8, 2006

Gained A Level
Found 100 gold.

Pssh. I wish. Seriously, I'd love to see random chests of gold around the city so I can make enough gold to buy swords, armour, and items of power/healing.

But anyway, yes. To the point. Today I have leveled up. And this is more than just reaching my second decade here in this world. It is the day I eat meat again.

For those of you who were out of the loop, I decided to stop eating meat around the months of January to February for personal reasons. To my surprise and to the surprise of those who knew me, I had no problem dropping meat from my diet considering I used to down pho like it was a cup of soup or devour a 32 oz. prime rib of beef just so I could inhale the free dessert at the end.

Now I'm not giving up vegetarianism because I'm weakening. I could easily go on but it's becoming quite an inconvenience. Since I decided to eat meat again on my birthday, the desire to eat innocent dumb animals for my nutrition and satisfaction grew insanely fast. My day has come.

So for those of you thinking I'm having vampire-like urges, you're only partially correct. I'm only planning on eating "typical" meats like animals. Though, I do admit I am curious about how human blood tastes. I think sucking blood is kind of romantic so if anything, I'm gonna save it for someone I truly love.

*laughs* Okay, I'm kidding.



I'm quite happy today. And it's for this reason I want to quickly address those of you who think getting excited for your birthday is only for kids and that there's nothing to be happy about when you're getting older.

It's bullshit. So maybe the reason you're bitter when you get older is because the people around you couldn't care less about your birthday (which is also bullshit especially in such an awesome community like this). Maybe you're not getting neat gifts like you used to. Maybe you're too busy to celebrate such a day. Maybe you think it's just a number.

So what if all that is true? Yes, your birthday is adding to "some number" but y'know what? That's an important number. That number signifies how long you've survived on this insane planet of ours.

For another year, you've NOT been shot by a bullet, you've NOT starved to death because you're living in poverty, you've NOT overdosed on drugs, you've NOT died of an incurable disease.

For another year, you've been kept alive by the love of someone else, be it your family, close friends, a significant other or whatever. For another year, you've breathed the same air shared by billions around the world. For another year, you've enjoyed and made use of five very important senses given to you by nature. You've touched, tasted, smelled, heard and saw everything this life had to offer for another bloody year. For another year, you've felt emotions, good and bad. Emotions that can only be felt by you.

For another year, you've existed. And if you think nobody cares, you couldn't be any more wrong. I'm writing something like this on MY birthday to remind you that when YOURS comes up, that you be happy about it. I want you to be happy because I care about you. For those of you I haven't wished a happy birthday to this year, I’ll say it now. Happy Birthday. Here's to another year. Let's survive this hell together.


I've had quite a nineteenth year. There are three highlights that come to mind. I saw my first 19+ (meaning alcohol) concert, POLYSICS. I made it through yet ANOTHER miserable period in my life. Last but not least, I met TWO MyOers who were both Western Canadians, both shorter than me and both too awesome for words. Thanks, you two.


And thanks to all of you for being such a huge part of my one-nine here. Really. I love you guys.

When I'm eating my noodles (w/ meat) and drinking my tea today, I'll be thinking about all of you. You've definitely made a place in my mind and built mansions in my heart. Thank you, MyO.




Cheers.


- enin -

Okay okay. I'll get that con post of mine up soon. Just hold tight, okay?

Fuck… This post made me emotional. I actually cried a bit just now.
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Thursday, September 7, 2006

My bloodlust is getting stronger.


3180 exp. until I gain the carnivore ability.


That was one kickass chapter.


The con report will come soon.
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Friday, September 1, 2006

Nice and brief.
There comes a time in every man's life where he must write something along these lines and lead up to something inspirational or heartwarming or whatever.

My time hasn't come yet.






I'll keep this one short.

Today marks the beginning of this where I'll be spending a lot of this while getting lost in this (but much MUCH bigger). Looks like I'll need these. Oh right... She is comin' too.



I'm quite stoked.

Expect something neat when I'm all done.




Cheers.

- enin -



P.S. 7 more days of gaining exp. and I level up once again.
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Thursday, August 24, 2006

The Multi-coloured side of thinking
Good day, good evening, good morning, good afternoon, good night. Whatever time of day you find yourself reading this, I hope you are doing well and not crumpled up in a garbage can getting kick around by Australian bullies who've strayed from their tour group.

Of course, that's never happened to me. I'm just saying, it wouldn't be very pleasant now, don't you think?

Anyway, let's get started.


It's 45:640pm on the forty-third of August. I think I'm in my room. Just the lamp is on. Nothing too special about the surroundings tonight.


I haven't been out of the house for the past while. I'm not under a lockdown of any sort, I just chose not to leave this dwelling of mine. I haven't answered any phone calls because a majority of them are from people I don't feel like talking to or seeing (and I also like listening to my ring tones). The band wants me back. They've been leaving messages about upcoming lives they're playing (with Bassist as the "drummer"... Fuck, he sucks...). I'm guessing they're desperate. Unless they bring me a sack full of diamonds, I still don't want anything to do with them. I'm sure that by not answering phone calls and rocks being thrown at my window, I've unintentionally turned down a lot more offers to go out and do stuff. So yes, I don't feel like leaving my room for a bit. Just cause....

[EDIT: I did leave to see Snakes on a Plane. Good fuckin' movie, I say. And these days I've been getting out for often. So there's nothing to REALLY worry about...]





So all this time to myself has turned me.... to be blunt.. I've gone mental. It's not all THAT bad though. I keep myself busy with drumming, singing along to music, watching DVDs and Disney VHS videos, cleaning my room, writing on the wall, and working out/pacing back and forth for exercise, eating random food and drinking even more random drinks.

But besides all that, I definitely have the time to just... ponder... think... activate the brain...

I've written down some of my thoughts.

Trust me on this. When you haven't seen the sun for a while, or have few hours of sleep per night/day, and close yourself off from the outside world, some of the stuff that passes through your floating mind just doesn't make sense. No matter how hard you want them to.







- You know how there is no 13th floor in apartment buildings and such? Mitch Hedburg made a joke about it. He said the people on the 14th floor are trying to fool themselves. They know what floor they're really on. Anyway the superstition thing is retarded in a way and I think the best way to eliminate it is to not use numbers at all. The tenants on each floor will decide on a team name and symbol. The symbols and team names will then replace the numbers used in elevators and floors. So in stead of floor 5, you'd be heading to the Wombat Chasers floor. And instead of floor 17, you're on the Viking floor! I'm sure the tenants would choose better names. Perhaps with the new names and such, the tenants could have an annual sports tournament for a prize. I think it would be fun, don't you?


- I know it's sometimes bothersome when people tell you to turn down your music. There's a somewhat effective way to ward them off and keep your music volume at whatever volume you desire. When someone asks if you could please turn down your music, you offer them a permanent procedure that will ensure that they never hear your music again. Of course, this "procedure" involves a steel skewer poking at their eardrums but it's effective, right? I'm sure after you give them such an option, they'll shut up.


- I think one of the best senses of humour in the world is that of young babies. They laugh the second they see something amusing. They don't waste time thinking about how stupid it is, or how offensive it may be. Their eyes instantly receive these images of whatever and then they laugh. It's as simple as that. We can learn something from these little chubby spheres of joy. Next time you see something that you find funny, laugh. Just laugh away. First of all, it bloody feels good. We all know that. Secondly, there are going to be times when even a smile seems impossible. Especially with the world going down as it is. Laugh now and remember it later. You'll feel so much fucking better.


- "Gangsters" and the like are often seen driving down street with their windows rolled down with hiphop and rap blasting from subwoofers and other various upgraded audio equipment. I'm hoping to one day see a British chap in his elder years, driving down the road with opera or classical music being played at a high volume. Not only do I enjoy these types of music, I think other drivers and pedestrians would appreciate it more than hiphop thumping away down the streets. Of course, hiphop fans are naturally drawn away from the melodic sounds of opera/classical so they may not like it at all. If the individual is elderly, he actually has more reason to have his music volume turned up. The man may be hard of hearing. I think this a lot more justifiable than the overused rap fan excuse "I do what I want". (Note: I know it may seem like I'm contradicting my previous thought about turning music dowon, but really, I'm not.)


- After a bit of pondering upon the subject, I think Vega has been one of my favourite fighter game characters of all time. Not only did I like to be a bitch when playing as him, I think he's just a damn cool character. None of that "I fight for honour!" or "I will conquer the world!" or "I will avenge my _______'s death!". No no. That's too easy. Vega is a true villain. He fights to kill and he's damn good at it. And I have to say, he's one vain mother fucker. He's beautiful and he knows it. The mask he wears is so that nothing causes any imperfection on his flawless face. He will kill you because you are inferior, ugly and unworthy of life. How's that for evil?


- For an extra boost the accent/impersonation talent that you've been working on for all these years, I have a quick one you can pull off as practice. After a recent convo, I've discovered that if you say "Homo" backwards, you're saying the same thing only with a French accent. Try it. You'll become an actress in no time.


- I've noticed that many songs out there feature "Yeah"'s and "No"'s as part of their lyrics. Often they are used in the instrumentals, part of the chorus or even in the verses. When used properly, they make a nice addition to the song. They can sing "Oh yeah" or "Yeah yeah" whatever as a sort of reinforcement for the preceding lyrics. The usage of "Oh no no" or "No no no" or whatever is a bit more tricky. If used improperly, you may be disagreeing to what you've just sang. That doesn't sound right at all. It works if you have a line that goes "You can't step on the grass.. Oh no no no.." or something like it. So anyway, I was thinking that someone should make a song where they don't have a definite answer for their lyrics. As in a "Maybe" or "I'm thinking about it". I thnk "Maybe" would work well considering it's a nice rhyme alternative to "baby".


- You know how when TV channels go off the air for the day and they show the channel logo or that rainbow colour test with that infinitely long beep noise? It'd be pretty neat if they put up one of those eye trick things and let it play throughout the night. Not those "screamers". I'd fuckin' sue if they threw that freaky garbage on. What I'm specifically talking about is that spiral illusion thing that you stare at for about 30 - 40 seconds then look away. The minute your eyes shift off the screen, everything starts warping and bending. I barely watch TV but I think this would be amusing for late night viewers. Why not liven things up with a free visual acid trip? I'm sure there will be people out there who'll complain about getting headaches from watching the illusion for too long. Solution? Change the fucking channel.


- I think Dance Dance Revolution or ParaPara would make for a terrible/dangerous drinking game. But you'll have to admit that it would be damn awesome to watch..


- "It's the little things in life that make it all worth living" is what they usually say. That's why my teacups are so small..


- I wish the wearing of capes was more acceptable in today's society. There's something about a cape that just fills you with this feeling of importance. Of course, there will be many under the "superhero" illusion, that's a given. but for others, they'll just feel like they're something special. The cape acts as a barrier or a sign of something great. It protects something powerful within, whether it be a superpower, great intellect or a sharpened hand sword. Wearing a cape makes even the most mundane activities more exciting. Like when you're walking, you'll want to keep a good pace so that the cape catches the wind. It's like "Aw hell yeah! I'm wearing a cape! I can save/conquer the world now!" It'd be brilliant, eh?


- Everything in existence is edible. It's just that some things are tasty, some are not. Some things are easy to chew, and some aren't. Some are easy to swallow and some aren't. Some are poisonous and deadly and some aren't. These are just a few factors that differentiate what is very consumable for humans and not very consumable. Given time, some prep work, seasonings and side dishes, I could easily eat this very laptop on which I'm typing this. But I won't because rice is tastier and I'm guessing it'll take a lot of time to cook an electronic. I don't have that time right now.


- I hope to one day be the first cowboy to ride a stripeless zebra. No, not a white horse. STRIPELESS ZEBRA.


- I find it weird how angry mobs in films are often armed with vegetables. To be more specific, the veggies in use are tomatoes and lettuce. Tomatoes make sense. They're easy to throw and when they hit, they make a good point in showing displeasure. Now lettuce is another story. First of all, it's not very aerodynamic. Throwing a piece of lettuce is usually only effective when you're near the front of the mob. Otherwise, you're flinging it as someone who's on YOUR side. They'd probably think you're retarded. Secondly, if you do manage to hit your target with a piece of lettuce, they'd think you're retarded too. So, you lose, lettuce-boy.


- I'd like to hug a sumo wrestler one day. It's been a life-long dream. I just hope he appreciates the love.


- It's probably a bad idea to start off any anecdote with "I was bored in the shower so I...". I don't think anything decent would follow an opening line like that. However, it's a good test to see if you have true friends. Anyone else would simply say "You're a sick fuck." while TRUE friends would ask if it hurt or if they could see it or something along those line. And you'll know that he/she is definitely DESTINED to be your friend if they respond with "Yeah.. I did that too."


- I've always wanted to go back in time to see how they discovered tasty foods. Like for example, sushi is high on my list. I imagine a guy coming back from a fishing trip. When he starts the fire to cook the fish, it goes out on him. His buddies don't notice and they take a bite of the raw fish anyway. "You barely cooked this!" they'd yell. The guy would apologize then ask if they'd like for him to start a new fire. "Fuck no! This is delicious!" So they start eating fish raw. For convenience, they cut it into little pieces. One of them gets too excited over their new discovery and spills his bowl of rice. "Argh!" He yells "This isn't fair!" His friend beside him suggests, "Hey! Instead of being a dork and spilling rice, why don't we pack the rice up together with a bit of vinegar and place it underneath the raw fish? Then we can have everything in one bite!" They all take his new idea into action and it works. So the happy men invented sushi. "Man, this is awesome! Where's Ray? He's gotta try this!" While still chewing, another answers "Oh, he's in the back pickling some ginger and inventing some crazy new green spicy stuff..."


- I've said this before and I'll say it again. When you get a cut and you use those solutions to disinfect, if the bottle says hurt-free, it's a fucking lie.


- I never understood why they make giants in movies talk really slow. I mean, their deep voices make sense because someone of their size would have a bass-filled voice. The same applies to tiny people. They don't have the capacity to create bass so their voice are very high-pitched. But why do giants speak slow? And now that I'm at it, why do tiny people speak so fast? Giants aren't retarded. they talk normally. If I spoke to a tiny person like giants do in the movies, I'd sound bloody ridiculous. I suppose the film makers are just lazyasses and just change the pace of the audio.


- I'm not sure how water systems work in your parts of the world but when someone uses the hot water in the sink then turns if off, and I come around right afterwards to turn on and use the cold water, hot water still comes out. And it burn. And I hate that.


- An idea came to mind but after a bit of thought I scrapped it immediately. Live-action carousels aren't going to be very popular. After skewering the horses and attaching them to rotating dics of doom, accompanied by some very twisted music-box tunes, they probably won't live very long. The poor children will be riding on corpses.


- If someone were to open a toilet-store and solidify their product guarantee by allowing a "try before you buy" policy, I think without proper plumbing (or any plumbing at all), they'd be ready to shoot themselves within days.


- The best water gun fights are the ones where people DON'T want to get wet. If your target is one of those people who just stand there while you soak them, it's no fun. You gotta have a victim who will run. It would be even more of a threat if the water was coloured. And limited "ammo" supply is a must. You can't have a true fight if you just keep squirting away. that's why those newer water gun models with the "release your whole load" features are fuckin' stupid. (Yes, I realize I've made a few dirty references here. If you haven't noticed them, then I apologize anyway.)


- There are only so many sides you can have on a die. 6 sides is ideal. 87 is not. I think by then, you'd just have a white sphere with awkward dots on it.


- I once had a conversation with a friend about drifting. I thought it'd be neat if a train could do that. My friend said that was called "de-railing". I was saddened.


- When a big massive army is on the march, it's a powerful experience to stand near them. It feels as if the ground is one giant snare drum and each soldier is beating on it with every step. There's a chance that at least in ONE army, there's a nut job soldier tapping away. He thinks he's a maraca.


- A rhino would be a good pet to have. You could teach him how to shimmy his shoulders or how to do the "harlem shake" and various other hip dance moves. Then you could present him on the street and let the public watch this talented rhino while you rob banks and liquor stores.


- There are some people who still don't obey the law when it comes to parking near fire hydrants. The people who do park in front of a fire hydrant usually get a ticket or their car towed and it's all just a big waste of time. The best way to take care of this problem is to install hydraulic hammers beside the hydrant with vehicle-detecting technology. If a car is parked near the hydrant for a certain amount of time (let's be mean and assume 30 seconds is too long), the hydraulic hammer will launch ride into the side of the car. Not creating extensive damage, but just enough to send the message "can't park here, dumbass." Now this could be a problem for those who exit the vehicle simultaneously with the hammer. Their shins are probably going to get destroyed.


- I pity bananas. They can't be romantic fruits. think about it.


- I once tried translating "sim-talk" long ago. there's a reason why they don't speak English. They're fuckin' stupid. "I'm thinking of a mountain. Now I'm thinking of a tennis racket. And now I'm thinking of a dollar sign. What? Why are you juggling? That's not amusing. I'm now thinking of a negative sign. Fuck you. Where's my virtual reality helmet?"


- You know when you're walking along the sidewalk on a warm, sunny day and every time you pass beneath some shade, be it a tree or building, you feel not only cooler but also a nice breeze? The minute you walk under the sun again, you feel double hot. You tend to wish that the wind would stay constant and keep you cool instead of giving you a bigger contrast in temperature while walking. Some say it's a blessing in disguise. Under the shade it cools you off because if the wind blew in the sun, you'll only be receiving hot air. I say that's horsecrap. I'm a guy who likes wind. Make me look cool while stayin' cool, get me?


- Next time you have the opportunity sing a lullaby to a baby, try to sing "we Will Rock You" by Queen. Change the lyrics in the verses around so it's more fitting for the sleepy-head. Something like "Baby you're so wiggly, jiggly, playin' in your crib, gonna be a big boy someday, you got food on your face, banana paste, mommy sure knows that you love the taste.." or something like that and rock the baby to sleep. Fun, huh?


- There's a reason why dentists make your teeth and gums hurt when you're there for a check-up/clean up. They're tidying up the stuff you're too pussy to brush and floss at home. And you wonder why they shake their head and go "tsk tsk" when you open your mouth. You can make it easier on yourself by doing what the dentists do. Brush and floss until it hurts. Get in there and clean properly. Now that doesn't mean you should buy those sharp metal tools and start scraping your teeth and shredding your gums. Simply brush around the gums a bit more than usual. Try reaching the back teeth as much as you can. Floss deep but not to the point of torturing yourself. Keep this up and the next time you visit your dentist, he/she will be quite pleased and you'll get a free parachute man from the kiddies’ toy chest. This message was brought to you by someone who enjoys the visiting the dentist more than most people.


- I hate button flies on jeans. Not only do they waste time, if someone were to catch you with your fly open, you wouldn't be able to just blush and zip it up. You'd have to bloody stand there, hunched over while fiddling around in your crotch region trying to get the damn thing to shut. If someone were see you from behind, they'd call the cops.


- It's a good thing scented play-dough isn't toxic.


- You know when people do something bad and they ask you "Would you be mad if I did this?" to see if you'd get mad or not. A question like that is inevitably followed up by "Why? Did you?". Kinda stupid if you think about it. Though it's rather fun to mess around with friends and ask them random "Would you be mad..?" questions. When they inquire, just respond with "Why do you think I asked?". That'll get 'em...




Ehh... I've spilled my mind long enough. So anyway, this is just a warning for those of you planning on asking me..

"Josh? Whatcha thinking?"



Cheers.


- enin -
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Saturday, August 5, 2006

He won't expect this....
He's no "random male".

He's not a "dude out-of-the-blue".

And neither is he a "variable with a penis".





The man we speak of is known by many names, but to all, he is SomeGuy. Since he dwells on the Pacific side of the nation, he became Mr. West. Not the Batman actor or black cowboy from that ridiculous "Western" flick with a giant robotic spider (*laughs* James West.. I never thought of it until now..)

JUST Mr. West.

Today is his 23rd birthday. What better day to unofficially show some love. So yes, here we go...


I suppose it would be best to start with the early days but I don't have much of memory for those bits.

When I joined back in 2004, receiving frequent comments on my posts from "the elite" was quite an honour. It was no exception with West. He seemed to like the fact that I was a fellow Canadian and so a neat little buddyship sprouted from there.

Eventually, a couple of girls (simultaneously) decided to call me out on MSN and through them, I started got to chat with the dude. Many online chats came after. Whether it was in a big group fading in and out amoungst a flock of girls, or one-on-one, exchanging bathroom humour, video links, websites of interest and other various wicked shit that would we felt needed to be shared, it was always interesting when West was around.

As you all know, West is damn good with his words. Be it in his writing pieces or making remarks through IMing, he always knew what to say. He's brilliant at entertaining you with stories and even more exceptional when it came to talking about serious matters. Almost permanently level-headed, when West spoke, people listened.

I found this to be more than true on a number of instances.

Back when I was going through one of my more serious fits of sadness, he said some stuff which at the moment sounded like typical words of comfort. But as time went on, it started to set me straight again. "Once you've hit rock bottom, you physically can't sink any deeper. The only way from here is up." You have to admit, that sticks in your head. He was also the voice of a collective amount of worries during those days. West was never one to lie so he pretty much squeezed an "I'm doing okay now" out of me. Thanks to a group of friends, some Yatta, and random joyful happenings, I got back up and it was all good.

Then came the age of Skype. West and I were the first to give this new technology a test run. It wasn't much of a conversation because the time to "think before you type" was completely eliminated. And so there was a lot of giggling and ". . ." moments. I didn't really have any expectations for what his voice would sound like. However, he was expecting a deeper sound out of me. That's not to say I constantly sound like I'm on helium though my laughter does tend to range in pitch... Anyway, it was neat.

Skype-age became quite a fun alternative to typing for those with microphones. The joy of hearing and ultimately matching voices to screen names pretty historical for our happy group of MyOers. We laughed. We sang. We played guitar. We had our ears bleed. We had damn good times.


Unfortunately, some time later, I sank into another lake of sadness and it was a bit more serious this time. By this time, I was quite close to Shanny (AKA Dark_Phoenix), a very good friend of West as well. Those two had quite the words to say regarding my little emotional plunge. Shantato was more straight to the point with what she said. West, on the other hand, came out rock-solid in such subtle way. Basically he and Shantato were prepared to tag-team my ass back to normal. West being the one to give the first blow.

I snapped out of it alright, but I hadn't escaped the inevitable. West was still prepared to take me down for scaring everyone again. And damnit, it wasn't like I was trying to run away either. I was the going to him!


So yes, a last minute decision to visit my demonic forgiven cousin in Vancouver gave me an opportunity to actually meet this highly-respected internet being.

Little sis and I waited for him at a public transit station and eventually rose up an escalator to be greeted by a little Chinese boy who laughed at me for squinting and being nearsighted. And so it happened. East meets West.

It was a short visit. A bit quiet at times, but fun nonetheless.

He brought us to a street lined with shops, bought us breakfast at a Juice Bar and eventually lead us around to perhaps buy a birthday gift for the cousin. He made the mistake of showing us a music shop and we bought a bunch of stuff for ourselves instead.

Afterwards, he took us to UBC (University of British Columbia or to me and sis, Ultra Big Campus) to show us around before he needed to jet for class.

While there, we saw a big head, weird art sculptures, some big ugly old thing that was completely out of place, the "echo circle" (which was fuckin' brilliant) AND last but not least, the Japanese garden. It didn’t have to be springtime yet to look ridiculously pretty.

Promptly afterwards, my family came to pick us up and that's when it happened. The most dependable anti-depressant one could ever receive...

A swift head butt from someone you respect and more importantly, a good friend.

I saw it coming. Slow-motion almost. Right to the brow. And it hurt. I'm glad it did because it serves as a damn good reminder that if I'm not willing to set myself straight in the future, someone is going to do it for me. Once again, thanks for that.


From then on, the good times just continued.



He's definitely made an impact in many lives, including mine. And I couldn't be more grateful.


It's not an extravagant gift for your twenty-third, but my tribute for you today is filled with a genuine respect and loads of gratitude for everything you've done (and haven't done i.e. the SECOND head butt).

Thanks for the history lessons, the stories, the comments, the poo jokes, the Jesus magic trick, the Skype laughs, the Hawksley Workman, the breakfast, the head butt, the guitar duel, the silly webcam shots...


..for all the shit I missed, for keepin' an eye on the west side of this village and most most most importantly..

Thanks for the words. The numerous, raw, straight-to-the point words.



Happy Birthday, West. Here's to you..





Cheers!

- enin -



P.S. The music is random enough to fit for today's post. Besides... You're Koyuki, remember?

P.P.S. For those of you wondering, little sis took the pic and the bell was just another item of interest during the UBC tour. There are Chinese character scribbled around it and West admitted to only being able to read the dates. Heh....
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Thursday, August 3, 2006

Beach Visit 2006
I know this is a month late but I'm just glad I managed to finish it. It's a bit confusing how I wrote it so I'll try to explain now. The dates and times are the exact moments I decided to write my entry for the day. When the actual events happened are described within the entries.

It's a bit much to read, I know. Though a part of the reason I'm posting it is simply for record's sake, this long and detailed vacation journal is up just to answer the very simple question I'm asked every time I come back from somewhere fun..

"Soo, how was it?"




July 4th, 2006


5:16am:

I'm actually at home as I type this. Little sis, my dad and I drove back to the house for the night because lil sis has an interview and course selection appointment for university in the morning. Yeah. I'm not sleeping again. And this may seem like a bit of cheating considering that I'm supposed to be away. Well, here's how the first bits of my week in the sun went.

So like I said in my farewell post, I didn't sleep before leaving on Sunday morning. So I packed the van with my dad and at around 8 we were well on our way.

We met my two aunts, uncle, cousin and grandma at the rendezvous point AKA Tim Horton's. We all had a small breakfast to keep us going. Honestly, I needed anything because the effects of staying up for over 26 hours were catching up.

Funny thing happened while sitting around in that parking lot. M sister and IO were watching some old guy put boxes into his van. After doing so, he started tippy-toeing and hollering at... nobody. As far as we knew at least. I think I almost puked laughing but honestly, anything is super funny when you haven't slept.

When we went on our way, I loaded up the CD player with some L'arc~En~Ciel. They're so much fun to sing along to when you're driving on country roads with the windows down, the wind blasting in your face and through your hair and with the volume as high as possible with adult in the cars. I surprised myself quite a bit by actually knowing most of the lyrics to the songs I was familiar with. And keeping up with Hyde's voice is another spectacle on its own. Damn you, "Hitomi no juunin".

I dozed off when we neared the cottage but instead of heading straight there, we all decided to have a quick lunch at Swiss Chalet.

I was so tired, I felt like I was made of slime. Everything was just slow motion with me. Eccch...

When I sat down in the restaurant, I think I passed out. I ordered an iced tea and veggie burger and to stay awake, I sucked on the lemon that came with the iced tea. MY tired state must've dulled my senses because I didn't feel the lemon seed choking me at all. It went down pretty quickly anyway.

While eating, I noticed there was a wine cabinet on display. My sis and I wondered who on earth would order wine at Swiss Chalet. Those of you who are familiar with the restaurant know that Swiss isn't necessarily "fast food" but more appropriately "obeying the speed limit food". Simply put, it's not super fancy and I personally don't thin wine is appropriate for most (if not all) the dishes there. then it got me thinking. Why do they offer wine at bar & grill-like places? You know those types... Nachos and wine. What the fuck..

Heh.. Pardon the stupid rant here but I'm not done yet. As soon as I started thinking about it, a group of typical chatty tourists took their seat at their table and guess what they all had. Yeah.... Wine. Okay. I'm not saying that I demand that everybody drink something appropriate with certain foods... But it was bloody noon!

After lunch, we eventually made it into the cottage and it took us less than fifteen minutes to unload everything. Everyone seemed pretty desperate for some beach action. Personally, I really wanted to sleep. But I chose to stay up so my internal clock would reset. It kinda didn't work but whatever.

I loafed around the house while bugs inside the house were escorted to their proper places and everything was sanitized. I was outside enjoying the sunlight while everyone chose their rooms. I walked in and discovered I was given the living room by default. Heh. I preferred it anyway. The couch folded out into a bed and was a decent size. I appreciated that. I also liked the fact that there were electrical outlets for my laptop, cell phone, external hard drive and later on, my XBox.

My cousin and youngest sister went with the dads straight to the beach for a bit of swimming before dinner. While they were there, Jess (younger sis) and I took out our laptops and watched an X Japan DVD. I will forever and always love and admire the greatness that is Yoshiki.

Close to the end of the DVD, after watching the Joker PV, Jess and I decided to walk to the beach and see where the kids and dads set up. The children were already in the water and the dad lazed about in their chair things. I decided to walk along the beach on my own to explore a bit.

Since our part of the beach was private, it wasn't very crowded and was in fact very clean. Since it was a long weekend, there were just a few more people than usual but it wasn't too big of a difference.

As I explored, I told myself the obvious. "Josh, you're a tanned Asian wearing a cowboy hat, tank top and rolled up jeans and you're surrounded by white people. Of course people are going to look at you." *laughs*

It wasn't a very windy day but people attempted to fly kite anyway. I saw a chubby little boy throwing a fit because his wouldn't even lift off the ground. The kite was obviously not made properly but the boy's older brother teased that his short chubby arms were the problem. I'm happy to report that prick got a mouth full of sand and the full weight of his girthy sibling sitting on his head within the next few seconds. And their parents didn't notice at all. Justice prevails.

Overall, my first taste of the beach in 2006 was a good one. Pretty skies, pretty lake, pretty people and most importantly, pretty sand. I already figured out what I first wanted to try sandcastle-wise. And if you know me, this wasn't gonna be your common upside-down bucket pussy castle shit. I build fortresses, mother fucker. *ahem*

I had no reason to be trudging through the sand in my sleepy state but I did anyway. When I got back to the cottage, Everyone already started dinner. That night the family had beef stuff and I had unagi. I was really fighting the urge to just pass out on the floor because sitting under the warm light of a setting sun after a tasty meal and warm shower, there's no way you can not feel comfortable.

I pulled out my bed early just in case.

We noticed that the water heater wasn't working all that great so we called the maintenance over to have a look at it.

This guy is probably one of the most fun and most friendliest guys you could meet. Wanna know the fun bit? He's an ex-Hell's Angel. In case you’re unfamiliar with them, they're an infamous biker gang. So yeah. He fit the look. Big BIG thick build, beard and ponytail. But he's really just a tough-lookin' teddy. *laughs* Seriously.

He walked in while my sis and I watched more stuff on our laptop and caught us off guard. He looked at all our plugs stuffing into the multi-outlet in the wall. He gave us a funny look, chuckled and smiled. "You're probably going to want and an extension opr power bar for all your little toys there. You don't have to get up. Lord knows if I bug you to get up, karma will come right around when I'm relaxing. You look terribly comfy. I won't bug ya. Heh."

It was very kind of him to say so. So I sent my dad to follow him back to his place to pick up stuff. By the way, the water heater was fixed in a second.

My dad, uncle and I went to the liquor store for something tasty to enjoy the summer evening with. They bought coolers for the girls, some whiskey for themselves and some liquors for me to practice shooters with.

On our way to the store, a temporary dislike for the Italians grew, as many MANY cars and trucks waved around green, red and white flags, honking, shouting and creating useless traffic. I love Italians, just not then. I was tired and cranky and I wanted alcohol... *laughs*

When I got back, I immediately mixed a few to let everyone try. They seemed to like it and they didn't start breathing fire or puking so all systems were go. I now have 8 new shooters under my bartending belt.

Jess watched some episodes of Fruits Basket while I... I think I dozed off around then because I don't remember anymore from that day.




I think I woke up around 5:00pm the next day (Monday, July 3rd). I think I would've slept longer if it weren't for the screams of my cousin. He just got bitten by my aunt's dog. It was mostly my cousin's fault though. Mr. Teddy Biker came back to check on the water heater and every time he comes around, the dog barks his ass off at him. I think it's probably because he still does drugs. But anyway, it was funny hearing the cousin scream like that. Around me, he always tries to act macho and stuff so it'd kill him for me to see him cry. The bite didn't actually puncture skin but created a clot of blood that apparently felt more painful. So all the adults were around him smackin his mouth for swearing while they tried to poke it gently with a pin of some sort to let the blood escape. Poor kid almost fainted. Meanwhile the dog wandered like an ass as if nothing happened.. Haha.

We had a quick dinner before heading back to Toronto for Jess' course selection thing. On the way back, I blasted Our Lady Peace and sang my heart away. Once again, loud music with a breeze feels so bloody good. Jess was still feelin' post-concert giddyness so for once she sang along with me. Normally, she'd tell me "Okay, okay. You sound like Raine..." with hopes of me cutting it out. But yeah.. Good times.

Once we got home, I took advantage of the short time to use the internet. I checked email and snuck on MSN for a split second. If anyone out there caught me and remembers the time you saw me come online, I've got a special prize waiting for you. Oh yes...

We then went out again to eat a real dinner since what we had before we left was no more than a few sticks of deep fried fish balls. We went to our happy little Congee Queen restaurant and ordered some chow mein and a helluva lot of dumplings. Yummy stuff.

After filling up the van and picking up some Arizonas, we went back home to sleep. On the way, we heard on the radio "Several things you don't know about Coldplay. The number one item was that to celebrate the arrival of Chris and Gwyneth’s child, Coldplay decided to create a one song group called "The Nappies". the song was called "I'm your baby's daddy" or something like that. Chris beatboxes. We all laughed our asses off. It was insane. The end.

Jess went to bed right away because of her appointment. I, on the other hand, stayed up until daylight. Yes. I can see the sun right now. Ech. I should be asleep. G'night! I'll continue tomorrow or something...


July 5th, 2006


12:50am:

Hello again. I'm so not sleepy right now. Everyone left except for the kids, Jess and my dad. I don't remember where everyone said they were going but I'm going to assume a casino. Yeah. Must be it.

So at the moment, everyone's fast asleep. I'm sitting with my aunt's dog (who's also asleep) and typing away. I just had sushi and tea so I should be able to finish this segment of the vacation post in no time.


I suppose I'll start with the morning of my sister appointment. Since I had nothing to do with it, I slept in. OH! I'll tell you about my dream.

So I was on a cruise ship with... parked cars and whatever. I was sitting inside a Mustang and having a chat with some blonde girl in another car. She kept telling me about some Sake Champagne and I kept saying it didn't exist. Iunno. It was a weird convo. I'm glad I don't remember it. Then I started walking along these corridors and I saw these catering tables with bottles on them. No, they weren't full of sake champagne. It was some sort of strawberry drink. ANYWAY, I went to the onboard electronics store to watch some TV because my room only had golf channels. I saw Pixie there talking into some karaoke microphone while wearing her prom dress. She saw me, spoke something else into the microphone and disappeared. I made a perpetual motion machine with the microphone then woke up.


Yeeeeah....


When I did wake up, it was perfect timing because my sis was all done with her course selection thing and my dad had already packed the stuff we didn't bring to the cottage the first time around. I stuffed my XBox into my acoustic guitar case. While doing so, I laughed at the lamest joke about some cop pulling me over and asking if I was a real musician. "What's in the bag, son? That don't look like a guitar to me..."

"Officer, we swears... It wasn't us!!"

*laughs*

Okay. I told you it was lame. I'm just a bit cuckoo...

When we picked up Jess, we headed to a T&T to pick up some food making stuffs and snacks.

We visited a different T&T from the ones I usually go to so it was a treat to visit. I spent most of my time looking at the curry stuff, planning out a fish ball feast. I grabbed some more tea and some instant fried noodle boxes instead. The curry can wait.

We paid for our stuff and since it was already lunchtime, we decided to eat before returning to the cottage. Dad had kalbi (beef short ribs) and Jess and I had Japanese food. I had two boxes of unagi. (Yeah... Again...) While eating, I kept getting stares from this girl who was with her mom. When my sis and dad went up to throw away the garbage (they didn't notice her staring), I asked if I could help her. She told me she thought I was an actor she was supposed to know. I laughed it off and said no, I'm just.. me.

They finished their food and got up to leave and saw my dad and sis on their way back to the table. My dad gave me a funny look and asked if I knew who she was. I obviously didn't and when I said so, he told me she was an actress from the Philippines. When I told him she thought I was an actor, he told me straight up, "Josh. Why aren't you over there making lots of money?" My dad... The punk..

My dad went to put the groceries into the van while Jess and I doddled a bit behind to look at stuff. She bought a Japanese fashion magazine and I bought a beautiful Chinese fan. I kinda don't know where my old black one is so the new one would have to do. Actually. the new one is rather large so I feel I will most likely use it for decoration when I get home. It's still pretty. Very pretty.

It cost $3 plus tax and so I had $3.45 ready to give the lady. It came up to $3.42! Three cent difference, whooop-dee-fuckin'doo, Josh. No no, you don't understand. I had just then remember that our provincial taxes went down by 1% on Canada Day! That's pretty sweet if you think about it.


On the way back to the cottage, we blasted Keane for Jess since her post-concert high was still going strong. She did most of the singing mainly bvecause I was rubbing my tummy from being so happy and full.

We were quite eager to hit up the beach as soon as we got back so we drove extra swiftly. We arrived in 40 minutes (the average drive from Toronto to Wasaga [our cottage] is approximately 1 hr 20 minutes if there's no traffic. My dad isn't your average driver though. He wants beach, he'll get beach.)

I busted through the door, suited up my beachwear and started putting the sunscreen on. I was told to wait 30 minutes before heading out otherwise the screen wouldn't be maximum whatever so I started pissing off my aunt's dog.

My aunt, like many pet owners, treats her dog like a kid. She loves him very much and it's cute. But if he's a kid, then I'm the prick cousin who messes around with him. *laughs* The dog never gets mad at me though. I took care of him for awhile back in 2004 and we're chums. I never piss him off too much because he's one of the few dogs I'm not allergic to. It's a good trade, yeah..

When it was time to hit up the beach, I screamed like a girlie and ran to a spot I picked out earlier. Grandma sat inside a screen meshy tent thing and ate watermelons. the kids went straight to the water with my aunt and Jess and I roasted for a bit under the warm afternoon sun. Lemme tell ya, the breeze was un-fucking-believable that day. It felt soooo nice!

So Jess and I were lying in the sand just talking about junk. She told me her friend Joey, a guy who I used to hate but now am returning the respect he has for me, would really like me to come with him, my sis and her friends to see The Blue Man group sometime soon when they come to Toronto again. I got all excited because it's Blue Man Group. C'mon. Visuals beyond your wildest dreams to percussion fueled tunes? Yes please. We're kinda hoping we can make it into a whole night out kinda thing. Like plan dinner, dress up kooky and go insane. Pixie and Jess' other friends are coming too and they know me quite well now. It'll be great.

We also chatted about going for picnics, bike rides and whatever. And.. yeah.. Pixie's gonna be there and I'd like to spend time iwth her again. It'd be nice.

So yes. I'm at the beach and people are having fun in the water. Wanna hear something crazy?

I went in the water too.

*GASP*

"NO ENIN! YOU'LL DROWN! MONSTERS WILL GET YOU!! OMIGOSH, ENIN, NOOOOO!!!"

Shush..

Well.. I didn't swim (obviously) but I did splash around in the shallow parts and floated for a bit in a tube. Yes it's lame but I don't care. If you can't fly, do you try flapping your arms after jumping off a bridge? I didn't think so.

The water was nice and warm for that short while but I needed to make me a kingdom.


I gathered my sandcastle minions (sisters and cousin) and told them to help me dig a moat around the castle base. My plane was to use the excess sand from the trench parts for the large castle bit in the centre. I felt quite drill sergeant-like commanding them to dig deeper and wider. When the mound was finished, I told them to bring me buckets of water to wet the sand and pack it down so I could sculpt. Once that was done, I went to work.

My minions had nothing more to do so I told them to dig a hole or something.

I carved away at the mound in squared off layers. Passers-by commented on my not-even-half-done mound of sand but I was far too busy to reply. It was nice though.

So picture, if you will, a 19 year old long-haired tanned Asian male, delicately carving a mound of sand while frantically throwing chunks of it in every direction. Sad, yes?

Well, get used to it. I'm building another one tomorrow and I'll be reporting it again. I don't swim, dammit! This is what I do!

*laughs* I'm overreacting again. I apologize.

Before carving details in, my polygon sandcake was almost complete when a couple of girls walked by me. They went off in one direction for a walk or something. When they returned in the opposite direction, one of them stopped and gave me a smile while watching me work. I stopped for a bit to say hi and went back to carving.

She realized I was busy and went to my aunt to say hi. According to my aunt, she had thought we were Mexican. Mainly because of the way I looked but also because the castle I was working on resembled Mayan architecture. I think most of you get the idea. They had very blocky looking structures back when their civilization was big. *laughs* It's funny she mentioned that because I was once mistaken for an Aztec. they're a dead race but it's still cool. the girl had a really sexy French accent. I think she was from Quebec. But yeah. I'm not Mexican. Heh. Cute though. And quite impressive as well. Bonus points for recognizing Mayan architecture.

I wanted to do more with it but the sun was setting fast and I need the light for picture taking. I took some with my cellphone and other with a digicam. It wasn't as impressive as I wanted it to be but this is just the beginning. I've got another idea for tomorrow.


Before leaving, I destroyed it. If any creation of mine is going to get annihilated, it's gonna be annihilated by ME. I have pics of that too.


Before heading back to a very delicious shrimp dinner, I watched the sunset in the horizon. Took a few photos of that as well.

Goodness, the ending of a day looks twice as beautiful when it's reflected in the shimmering waves of a body of water. It's times like these that I just wish I had someone to share the moment with.


I returned to the cottage promptly after the sunset and ate dinner. Everyone did their own thing after dinner and now we are here.

The people who went out are still out, everyone here is still asleep and I'm done the sushi I bought earlier today. I think I'll watch a DVD before drifting off to sleep. I hope I dream about something (or someone) pretty tonight.

G'night. I'll be back again. I might write a short story when I'm not in the sand making stuff. I think it'll be interesting.



July 8th, 2006

4:30am:



*laughs*

Talk about laziness. I totally just made my vacation buttery. Buttery is a good thing by the way.

So I didn't get to writing this for several reasons, let's get to it then, yes?


On Wednesday, I think I woke up incredibly late. Like 4:00 in the afternoon late. But this is a vacation and that's what it's all about right? I woke up to the sounds of my family screaming at my dad for chasing them around with the bug zapper thing.

The bug zapper thing is basically a tennis racket shaped object with a steel mesh thing covered with guard and stuff so people don't electrocute themselves. It's activated by a button that you hold while swinging it at pests and such. Once any insect touches it, they're fried. It's a really neat tool. The bugs flash and spark but it smells like burning pretty soon afterwards. Late at night it you swing it blindly, you'll see a trail of sparkles because of all the insects buzzing around.

Anyway, it was a really windy day and somewhat chilly at times. I didn't want to go to the beach. Neither did anyone else. Instead we decided to do some shopping at some random mall.

Before doing so, we decided to eat at the only Chinese buffet in town. It used to be called Uncle Tang's but they changed it for some reason. Same people work there though so it's all good. I pretty much ate my weight in noodles and shrimp. I've never tasted such delicious plain lo mein. It's usually a good idea to chew when eating such yummy food. Thankfully, one of the two servers there was constantly at the ready with a pitcher of water.

*laughs*

I'm kinda surprised at how much I can say about an hour long dinner at a buffet. Really, I can go on but I won't.

After eating, we went to this mall that looked shoddy compared to the malls in Toronto. Honestly, even Toronto's smallest shopping centres looked big compared to this one. I was surprised there weren't wooden stands inside, it was THAT homely. But the bigger surprise actually WAS on the inside. they had some pretty big name stores inside. And for whatever reason, my dad and uncle were shopping at an Xtreme clothing store. I should probably explain Xtreme before continuing.

Basically, whenever I see guys wearing this type of clothing, I'm instantly reminded of those Xtreme guys from Harold & Kumar. You're know those silly white punks? Tank tops, shorts, backwards caps, chains, shaved heads, etc. It's kinda like a skater/wigger hybrid. I decided to peek in myself since they were having a sale (probably what originally attracted my dad and uncle to visit the store in the first place). I found a pair of pant that I've wanted ever since grade 8. It's a black pair with white stitching and very wide legs. Not flare-y like most of my jeans, just wiiiide. It goes over my shoes so I look like a lego man. I also got a nice pinstripe-y short sleeved shirt. I went in the change room with a pink shirt on and blue jeans and came out with full black. The girl working there thought I was going for a makeover. I used to wear black a lot in my early highschool days so I explained it was a "temporary revisiting". I think my dad bought some random golf tees that didn't look like they were from the same store. The cashier had B.O. *laughs* Just thought I'd throw that in.

The girls went shopping too for clothes and cookies. Y'know the soft chewy kind that taste even better if you heat them up a bit? Snacks are always a plus.

Since I made my purchases, I waited in the van in the parking lot while the girls continued their spending quest. While waiting, I saw a grey cloud floating mysteriously above the mall. It wasn't really a cloud though. It was a bloody swarm of seagulls. It was such a creepy sight. They were just circling above the mall. The way they disbanded was even freakier. They all went in one direction and formed what looked like a fist flying through the sky. Then they broke up and flew away. I really wish I got a picture of it. Too bad.


When the girls were done, they saw a Walmart across the way so we all went there. I don't remember what they were looking for but I went to the video games to see if I could find anything to kill some time at night. That's when I found my curse: Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II. Buying that game pretty much ensured that I don't get any sleep. I was watching trailers for strategy games and MMORPGS and BfMEII was one of them. It's friggin' Lord of the Rings, okay? That fact alone was enough to hook me. I remember explaining it to my sis. "I can control Uruks! Fuck yes, ma'am!" Heh, I'm such a nerd. I bought it and yeah... Bad move/good move at the same time.

I also bought Jess the new Keane album because she's been dying to hear the other new songs after being teased on July 1st at Edgefest. I gotta say, it's a bloody good album.

Again, the ladies took their time in the store so I waited in the parking lot with my dad. We watched a mom scold her children for misbehaving. She yelled her ass of at her son. She didn't touch them though. My dad said "Yelling is a waste of breath. A swift punch saved time and energy. If that were me, I would've thumped you and we'd be on our way inside the store. Sure, you'd be crying a bit but at least we wouldn't look stupid in a parking lot." We had a good laugh from that because he was mostly right.

Before heading home, we all wanted to go gokarting at our happy little track. We go every year and every year, the stoner duo would greet us if not occupied staring into the sky or eating munchies. I'm sad to report that they were no longer working there. It pissed me off. The new management sucked big nuts and the lap prices were higher. but we were already there and the kids wanted to finally drive the big karts so we gave in.

Since the staff there wasn't under any influence, I doubted I would get to drive an extra 50 laps. It was fun racing the kids. Out of the two younger kids (my sis and my cousin), I thought my cousin would be the wreckless one. It was my youngest sis who was lapping his ass and screaming, "EAT IT" as she passed him. His excuse at the end was his kart was a shitty one but that was obviously a load of horse feed.

And for once, Jess was driving pretty crazy too. So I finally got to actually race her. She got cheap when she shoved my kart into the tires but I still lapped her a buncha times. It was fun.

After racing, we all went to the arcade which featured some old school games like Cruisin' USA, Killer Instinct and Ninja Turtles. they even had some older school table top games like Pacman and the like. My sisters and cousin played air hockey and I stuck to playing Street Fighter II and played as Zangief. He's so underrated. I got halfway through the my opponents before being told we had to leave.

We got back to the cottage before sunset and so I went straight to the beach to catch it.

One of the most beautiful sights in the world is seeing the sun set into the water. If you catch the sun just halfway into the horizon and the water just perfectly mirrors its reflection, the water in front of you looks like the sky. You feel like you're standing at the edge of the world. It's so beautiful.

We had salmon steaks and dumpling for dinner that night. I don't know what they marinated the salmon with but it was so good and we ate so much, we ran out of rice. Yeah....

It was inevitable that I'd install and try out my new game. And I did. I'd be lying if I told you I'm not obsessed with it. That night (pr morning I should say), I practiced with skirmishes until the sun rose. I paused from playing t watch that too. Once again, it was lovely.



I woke up even later on Thursday. close to 6:00pm actually. I really didn't care though. Mr. Sun stays out longer and so I had more than enough time to chill with him before watching the bugger sink into the water. I was itching to play more LotR though. So I thought I'd do both at the same time. I brought my laptop with me close to the beach but not on it so sand wouldn't get in my keyboard. I felt really nerdy at the time but nobody was around anyway. I returned my latop to the house after half an hour of playing because the sound of splashing waves, the feel of the breeze against your skin and the sight of the pink and purple sky is best left as pure as it can be.

Once again, I witnessed a beautiful sunset. I took a few pics with my cell phone but they'll never do it justice. While watching the sun go down, I had plenty of time to just think about stuff. I got all sappy and stuff while watching it.


"The sun's reflection off the rippling waves of the water is enough of a sight to behold. But to have someone by your side and to see the same reflection twinkling in their eyes as they gaze back at you... is truly indescribable."


See? Told you so.

The rest of the night was spent watching movies and of course, playin' more LotR. My cousin had fun with the bug zapper and the most unlikely people to watch a horror film were watching a pirated copy of The Omen. My grandma, my aunt and my youngest sister. To my surprise, they were completely unaffected by it. Did it suck that bad? *laughs*


Friday was a verrrry lazy day. I woke up retardedly late again. I received my first bug bite of the vacation. It was on my arm. It looks like it's gonna be red for awhile. It's kinda neat though.

I ate a hefty amount of mussels while playing some more BfME (fuck, it's good) and listened to some of Jess' new Keane album. Soon after I went to the beach to lie under the sun again. There was absolutely no wind at all that day. It felt so bloody nice. The peace was unreal. You heard nothing but the sounds of rippling water and the sand moving under your feet. Some clouds came around and started screening the sun a bit. It was still very bright though. I stopped the sun soaking and sat in a beach chair while watching really cute babies play a kickball game with their mom/guardian Halle Berry lookalike. The little and youngest was a boy (the rest were girls) and his name was Liam but everyon called him Li-Li. He had such a determined face and when he went to kick the ball, it'd only go about 6 meters. He and the others cheered wildly anyway. I did some cheering myself too. Good times indeed.

When the sky turned a redder shade, I wanted to make something but my minions weren't around and I felt kinda lazy so another sandcastle was completely out of the question. I grabbed a stick and decided to draw like those street artists I see downtown. My beach style was a bit more primitive than coloured chalks but it did look pretty cool. I drew an anime girl with pigtails. Erasing isn't as hard as it is with paper. Just a quick sweep of the foot and you're set. Passers-by enjoyed my artwork though it did become an obstacle to not step all over it.

The sun turned and eerie red that evening and so the clouds and sky appeared as if i were stained with blood. I sat and watched it dip into the water while sitting behind the ruins of my previous castle. The trench/moat was still quite noticeable but the actual castles part were now just a mound of sand. I left quite a mark anyway.

Back at the cottage we had some broiled white fish and even more mussels to chow down on. After dinner we huddled around the campfire and just chatted about whatever and the like while watching junebugs sacrifice themselves before in the pit of flames. I think they were just attracted by the light and got a little too close but the sacrifice part sounds cool.

When we went back inside, the adults went to bed while the kiddies, grandma, and I play mahjongg. I lost. Countless times unfortunately. So I told Jess to win my money back from those thieving children and their elderly leader. She did and so I was happy. I gave her what she won since I temporarily lost interest in a game I suck at.

Here I am now at 4:00 in the morning eating instant fried noodles. Jess just finished an episode of Ouran and we watched some HK film about growing up. It was cute but the end was "eehhh"... I enjoyed it as a whole anyway. Oh boy. tomorrow is my last day here at the ever so awesome beach. I'll make it worth it.




July 10th, 2006

3:14am:

Fuck, I'm tired. What a day though. What an ending.

I woke up early on Saturday! Earlyyyy! Like... Noon. but it's still very early!

I played BfME for about 15 minutes just to watch my hordes pf Uruk-hai stomp the fuck outta some elves from a saved game. God, it was sweet.

The others were already at the beach and so I rushed my ass outta there like a cheetah with its ass on fire. Well.. 15 minutes after putting sun block on. Ehehe... I was all shiny..

So I ran to the beach and found that it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. I went to lie in the sand. And THAT'S how you know you're on vacation. You wake up only to lie down again. Fuckin' sweet..

Everyone was in the water so lying down and sponging some rays was the best thing to do. The sun was bright so I had my eyes closed for most of the time. I cleverly wrapped my MD player in plastic so sand wouldn't eff it up so I got to hear some tunage while lazing in the sand.

I overhead a group of fun-sounding friends playing soccer to the side of me. When one song finished, I heard one of them shout "Shit! It's gonna hit him!" I assumed it was me but I didn't do anything about it. I wanted to get hit so I had a reason to get up and say "Eh! Watch it!". I felt nothing more than a rolling ball tap my shoulder. *laughs* they were worried about nothing. I got up anyway and one guy who went to get the ball apologized his ass off to me. He blamed his friend and we laughed it off. They're a fun bunch, I can tell.

So anyway... I'm lyin' there, I'm lyin' there, I change a song because it's too sad, and I lie some more. Good times. *laughs*

Okay okay. I got up eventually.

Everyone came in from the water to dry up and get some snackage. Unfortunately for them, I ate the last few cookies. They suffered with only chips... alright, I guess they didn't suffer but they didn't get cookies.

I laboured my minions to work. For our finale, I wanted a big castle. A dwarven castle to be precise. Mainly because it's very squared off and angular. We dug a big trench and made a huge ass mound of sand in the center of it all. Some kids nearby kept eyeing my sand pile. I overheard them daring each other to go near. The first one they sent was a pussy and went to my previous mound and didn't even go near mine. The second kid had balls though. Very small balls. As he approached he kept looking back at his friends to make sure they didn't ditch him. When he came near he kept quiet and just stared for a bit. I stared back expecting him to do something stupid. He finally said "That's huge." I nodded and said "Yeah.". He stood around for a bit more and ended with "Must've taken you a long time.."

I nodded and again but didn't say anything this time. I simply stood up. I'm quite proud of the fact that I seemed to tower over that little shit. I gave him a good stare as if to say "You try ANYTHING stupid, I will break you. I will break your friends. I will break your immediate family." And that's being easy on him. He walked back to his friends and after a bit of whispering, they all left the beach pretty quickly. I mean, I'd leave too if I had just encountered a sandcastle-building shadowy figure of death.

So under the heat of the sun, I carved away at my castle. I was being very precise with the blocky angles, but very careless about those around me. I had the tendency to blindly throw excess sand behind me, unaware that I may be tossing it into the faces and eyes of family or passers-by. But I was making a castle, dammit. I couldn't care less. *laughs*

I was running out of time because nightfall was quickly approaching and I couldn't leave without getting my sunset shot. There was no time to fancy it up with flags, gates and the like so I quickly cleaned it up as swiftly as I could.

As the fire in the sky slowly died, I finished my castle. In images and pictures, it may not seem like the most impressive thing ever but to see it in person, it's something quite different. Even then, it may not seem so spectacular but this castle is my escape. My freedom to create something in one of the most wonderful of settings, a sunny beach. Honestly, I'm really happy with how everything went.

After taking a few snaps of my completed work, I decided to destroy it. Once again, I, the creator, am also the destroyer. The only one breaking down the walls here is Joshua, dammit. I think there's a video of me breaking down my structure with a good dropkick. The rest I left to my minions. It felt fun. I kinda stumbled on the trench and fell on the mound. I felt a sense of victory but also defeat. You don't get me, do you. Oh well. I'm mental, how're you?

I heard my youngest sis and my cousin arguing about something. I think my cousin then said my sister was "sounding like an asshole". Thankfully no adult were around to hear it. My sis completely owned him by saying "No. Assholes sound like this: Pfft pfft pfft pfft. Kinda like you when you sleep, you sleeping asshole!" I swear, I've never laughed so loud at anything my sister said. I mean, it was bad that they were swearing but I couldn't help it. hat had to be the cutest comeback ever.

I swear, I didn't teach her any of those words.

And finally, the sun completely set and before leaving, so I sumo wrestled my sis in the trench surrounded ruins of my castle before leaving. Somehow, she tossed me. Like, airborne, man. Iunno.. I don't wanna think about it.

When we left, I blew a kiss to the rippling waters and trudged away.

Back at the cottage, I was welcomed by plates and plates of different fish, all differently cooked. And also a lot of mushrooms. I ate a pretty mean amount of mushrooms that evening. Mario ain't got shit on me. They were cooked with garlic. Since mom was at the beach with the rest of us, big thanks to dad for emulating mom's style of cooking. Twas delicious.

After eating, I took the longest shower ever. I don't have one of those enclosed shower stalls at home so singing there was different. The acoustics were much stronger. So I attempted some Phantom of the Opera. I think I did fine. The others nearby must’ve thought otherwise because while drying my hair, I overheard "what's wrong with him?".

Nothing is wrong with singing in the shower, right? Personally, if I don't sing in the shower, I get this feeling that some guy dressed in drag is gonna knife me to death. Not very pleasant, don't you think?

The rest of the night was... well.. I don't exactly know. Maybe it was the feeling of leaving this paradise of simplicity behind the next day... or maybe it was the shrooms. I don't know but I was very pleased that night.

I stayed off the LotR just that one night so I could simply lie there and recap my wonderful week. Then a junebug landed near me. So I caught 'im and set the fucker on fire. Killed my train of thought , he did. He deserved it. Anyway, played mahjohhng against my sisters and grandma again and got owned. Finally, I gave up and went to bed.



We all woke up ridiculously early the next day (Sunday). I think around 10:00am or something like that. We tried to stall packing up so we wouldn't have to leave so fast but we got everything together in minimal time anyway.

Before leaving, we said goodbye to our Hell's Angels teddy bear friend. He mentioned he's never seen such sad faces on people leaving the beach. We did have an awesome time, so I wouldn't expect anything else.


Before heading HOMEhome, we have a tradition of eating a big lunch. My grandma has a best friend who has a husband who owns a Mandarin (Chinese buffet) so we go there every year. Now I must point out that this particular Mandarin is located in Barrie. Nothin' wrong with Barrie. It's a nice place wiht nice people. But this Mandarin is specialized in catering the needs of both Chinese food lovers AND North American tastes as well. So they've got cauliflower with cheese and onion rings. I'm not bashing it or anything, I'm just sayin', it's a bit weird to me seeing it in a Chinese buffet. I guess I'm just Torontonian like that. I pretty much filled up on nothing but noodles. Just noodles. Really. With some fried fish here and there for flavour. I even picked out the beansprouts because "they're a waste of chewing". The noodles cleverly arranged themselves in my belly so I was able to eat several pounds. It's so gross and unhealthy, I know... *laughs*

Finally we headed home and after unpacking, I took a nap until we all decided to have one last dinner together with the relatives at my fave little sushi place. It was a bloody good vacation.



And now, the pictures!






We'll begin with my favourite little plastic red shovel. I pretty much used this for everything sandcastle-wise. I was very clingy to it for some reason.





This is the first castle I made. It's not really a castle though. Probably more of a living quarters or barracks. I'm happy with it anyway. It's nothing impressive but I don't for a fact it's better than those simple upturned buckets of sand "castles" I've seen everywhere else. Seriously, I want construction equipment next time.





I think it should be a rule to sandcastle building. The creator is also the destroyer unless stated otherwise. Like I said before, I the one who made it so I'll be the one to break it. There's no such thing as "letting the tide take it". There's always some punkass kids swarming the beach waiting to find something like my castle to kickdown and temporarily make themselves feel special. Anyway, I'm about to stomp on it like a miniature in a bad monster flick.





*laughs* Byebye castle..





...And a finishing kick to end it all.





This is what was left of it. The surrounding trench managed to stay quite intact during my weeklong stay there. It's awesome for sumo wrestling.





This is Jess (little sis) and I while waiting to drive the gokarts. We look like such dorks. Dorks that think alike. While driving, we both had the Speedracer theme in our heads. *laughs* Too funny.





Here's Julianne (youngest sis) and Tyler (cousin) while waiting to drive. I love how they're act like the best of friend while still going at each other's throats. They're fun to watch and hearing them scream at each other while racing around was no exception.





Here I am just watching the sunset. You can see my hand of vanity hold the camera up in the reflection of my sunglasses.





While constructing my second castle, Julianne created the weirdest fucking display I've ever seen done on the beach. I don't even know how to describe it. I mean, look at all the lines... If this is supposed to be an abstract representation of her, then I'm proud to say that she's growing up like her crackhead siblings. *laughs*





My second castle. It's a bit bigger than the first and a bit more intricate around the corners. It started off Aztec and ended Dwarven. At this point, I really REALLY wished I had some action figures to play with. And I don't know it you can see it, but there's a floodgate on top so unwanted visitors will drown at the front door. (Note: You are currently looking at the back door.)




The completed castle and it's architect. I'm such a proud loser! Haha!





It had to fall... So what I did was a hybrid of a barrel-roll and a suicide dive. It took it down in one go. I kinda took myself out in the process as well. Here I am lying down in both triumph and defeat. (Heh, not really. I was just tired and I got sand in my mouth.)





This is a random image my sister took of her new parasol while watching the sunset. I think it looks pretty so I put it up.





Me and my little red shovel watching the sunset. Good times...





And to finish it off, here's what I saw every evening. Just beautiful.





And that's it. I remember being asked why I didn't take more pictures. Well, simply put, I was too busy having fun.




And there you have it. My vacation...


Cheers.

- enin -


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Wednesday, August 2, 2006

What the..... . . .. .. .. .. . . . . .. .
I don't think I'm destined to post anything decent anymore. This is the second time I'm writing this short "excuse for not posting" post.

I don't have my big post anymore. But I'll get back on that again soon. My Vacation post is near completion so expect to see that soon? Ah, maybe not. It won't make sense a month later...

But oh man. There's so much I need to tell you about. For those of you who care, it's quite interesting. There are juicy bits about Kanon confessing her love to me and me not giving a shit, drumming over the internet, and getting cancelled out on for a concert.

The last bit is part of the reason I'm posting. I've developed an anti-glum reaction. It's called "break shit and go mental". For the "break shit" part, I didn't actually break anything. I did, however, spend a lot of energy drumming and swearing (simultaneously, I might add). After discovering my profanity has rhythm, it was time to move on to the next part: Go mental.

For this bit, I pretty much sang loudly in an empty house. My music list consists of 1500 songs or more so I set 'er on random and waited to see what lyrics I could ruin with this voice of mine.

It came to a point where I was dancing around by myself and saying "I'm so cool. I love me. I want me."


And then something just utterly wrong happened...



....but man, I had a damn good laugh. I hope you all do too.








Yeah, I'll go away now..


Cheers.

- enin -



P.S. Don't take me seriously for awhile...
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Monday, July 24, 2006

An update would've been nice, eh?

It's a shame, really.
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Sunday, July 2, 2006

Take me away
You know that feeling of uncontrollable happiness you feel when you're the first kid to get ice cream from the ice cream man?

Multiply it by 74 and that's how I feel right now.

First off, let's toast my sis, who just graduated from high school. I'm quite happy for her. She had her prom last Friday. I was supposed to go to that one with Pixie but I didn't. The night turned out kinda neat anyway.

I was set out on a mission to supply some drinks for the after party. I was downtown at the time and liquor stores were nearing closing time so I couldn't rush down to my local one near home. I went to the Chinatown one. Since I was without wheels, I had to lug several liters of alcoholic beverages home with me to wait until sis gave me a call.

When she arrived at the hotel in her limo with her crew (four girl and one guy), I put on me hat and set out on my horse.

Before leaving, I separated the bottles and took some out of their boxes and packed them into two briefcases. I also shoved newspaper in the spaces so they wouldn't make those clinky bottle noises. I packed up several shot glasses too and went on my way.

It was kinda like a movie setting. I don't know what kind of movie but it felt cool anyway. I waited for the limo in the parking lot and when they arrived, I made my move into the lobby. They spent some time standing outside taking pics in their pretty prom dresses and when they went inside, they were greeted by a somewhat suspicious looking cowboy. *laughs*

I escorted them upstairs to their room and once I was in, I quickly set up my bar.

After serving a few shots and drinking twice as many myself, several male guests arrived. I knew them and they're all good kids so I had little to worry about. I served about 30 shots and several drinks all around to the prom-goers before leaving. A guy who I call "my son" doesn't drink so I assigned him to keep an eye on the partiers.

Before leaving, a girl and several lightweight guys called me "The Devil" for serving them "devil's juice". Heh. Dirty thought. Anyway, they were cute lying there on the floor all red and trembling...

On my way out, I warned them that if they did anything stupid, they should document it. Under my breath, I muttered "So I know how many time to stab you..."

Yes yes... My sis was there and I got all big-brotherly and worried a bit. But I knew shit wouldn't happen. Everyone there knew it too.. They wouldn't do anything to get me riled up. Because I'm the devil.


The aftermath was cute. Sis called me at 3pm the next day and said her friends didn't wanna wake up. Good times..


Her grad ceremony was pretty cool too. She was all emotional getting ready for it because it signified "the end" and whatnot. I kept spewing sappy taglings like "nahh, it's just the beginning." to keep her from tearing up.

My family, relatives and such had our own little corner in the back of the auditorium place. We were getting all revved up to cheer for Jessie. The names up until the M's got a few good cheers. Some from rowdy friends at the back. And when it was Jessie's turn, everyone roared. No joke. We roared like lions and shit. I almost fired off bombard cannons for her. Yush, we loves her.

The reception was a blast because I got to see some old friends again. Most of them were there for their younger siblings like me. Others... I have no idea what they were there for. I also had a chance to chat with some former teachers. It was great to see them again. Most of them didn't recognize me because of my suit, my hair and my glasses. Heh.

The picture taking took very long. Eventually, sis left with friends to party it up while I went to a Chinese restaurant to fill myself with seafood and noodles.

Ah jeez... It's 4:26am and I have to be up in 2 hours. Fortunately, I'm not sleeping. Let's continue, shall we?

The next day, I think we went out to celebrate Mr. Rhythm Guitarist's birthday. Yeah. We did. My memory is rule. We went to an all-you-can-eat sushi place and I ate until I died. Seriously. I had about 8 lbs of white tuna alone. It was so fucking good. And yeah, I'm getting hungry typing this. We ended the night with bubble tea. I'm running out of time so I'll stop with that.

Before doing so, let's have another round of applause for little sis. Like she really needs it. Heh. She's been having too good of a week. Prom, grad, a new laptop (which the family bought for her a while ago) AND to top it all off...

A Canada Day concert featuring Hot Hot Heat, KEANE and OUR LADY PEACE!!!!


Yush. I missed out but I have my reasons. Don't worry 'bout me.

[Edit: Sis bought me a sweet white OLP zip-up hoodie and had a wonderful time with Pixie. We had Tim H's on the way home. Pixie still rocks my world. Picture of hoodie to come soon.]

But anyway, little sis is havin' an awesome time these days and I'm totally happy for her.


And now onto the main bit of this post.




I'm goin' to the beeeeeeeeach!

Yup. the annual trip to the cottage is early this time 'round. I'm quite excited. This is why I have to leave at 6:30am.

So most of you already know I can't swim. So I'm happy to say I won't be in the water for another year in a row. Instead, I will be lying on the sand, soaking up the sun OR making one of these:


Yes. I make sandcastles. It's quite losery, I know but for someone who's deathly afraid of the deep waters, I'm fuckin' proud.. So lay off! *laughs* Okay okay. I'm kidding. Come back.

Aside from lying still and relaxing, it’s pretty much all I did on the beach last year. I plan to do the same this year too. I’m also going to laze about near the campfire, cook big random meals, do some go-karting at this track run by two Shaggy’s from Scoobie Doo and just relax my life away. Ahh… I can’t wait to get there!


And since it was Canada Day yesterday, here's another shot of last years model:



I love this pic. Mm... the dork is just radiating off me now, isn't it? I’m a Canadian dork, though. We rock.



So anyway, I'll be away for a week... Unless I can steal a wireless connection while down there but I doubt it. Prepare for an extra tender post for when I get back. This year, I've got my laptop to jot down daily entries so no more scribblies for me!


Before I end this terribly rushed post, I wanna show you something.

I found my old fishing hat which I used to wear as a kid back in the day. I've had it for years and it's been awhile since I've worn it. I won't be fishing this year but after trying it on, I noticed something....



Those of you familiar with BECK: Mongorian Chop Squad might find this amusing. the rest will think I'm retarded...



"Beck! Come here..."



See you in a week!



Cheers.

- enin -
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