Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Psst, it's 2006.
*slumps down on bed*

Ahh, you guys. Thanks for all the seasons greetings and whatnot. Happy New Year 2006 too all I haven’t said it to yet... I think that's all of you because I haven't been here for a while. Pardon the disappearing act for the past few weeks. There was just a lot of stuff to do and my tea-soaked brain was filled to the brim with thinking.

I should probably explain the un-enin-like Christmas post first. That seemed to boggle most of your minds. Basically, I was trying to think up something nice and sweet to wish you all as Merry Christmas. Perhaps something along the lines of my post from last year, which was a Christmas poem. I thought it would be better if I left the rhyming to the Best from the West. So there I was, scratching my head, wondering what the hell to present you all on Christmas. All of you made really neat banners or typed up sweet messages. So what was I to do? Nothing could top all the great greetings and Christmassy stuffs you guys posted. Nothing...


...so that's just what I did.


And to see that you commented on a completely blank post just turned my heart to syrup. Wah. I love you all. Like, too much. Seriously, you're all invited over for some tea. I really liked the comments. Aside from the confusion, you all made me feel just too wonderful. Despite the blankness, I want you all to know I wished you all the same. Just in a very different way. I saw that some of you got that so I'm glad.

My new years post had some content but it was just as.. Well, let's say "bare". I wanted to go over everything that happened in 2005 but it was wayyyyy too much. A LOT happened and it wouldn't do the events justice to type it up all short-form and all. But to summarize, there were three big things about 2005. The rise and fall of a band, the making and breaking of a relationship, and the various way ups and the deep downs of the emotions within me. And then there's you guys. Building friendships with you was also a big part of 2005 but I don't even have to mention you. You've become a part of me without actually becoming a part of me. Know what I mean? You're like a tattoo or something. I also didn't post much for new years mainly because I was bartending that night. I'll get to that later.

Speaking of "getting", did you all receive some sweet gifts this year? Better yet, how did people react to the gifts you brought them? I honestly think that giving is better than receiving. It really puts a smile on my face to know that I was the reason for making another smile. And believe me; I saw a lot of smiles over the holidays. Anyway, I hope everyone got what they wished for, whether it be gifts that were wrapped or gifts of spending time with loved ones.

My Christmas started early. Sort of. It was the last day of work before the holiday break and so the peeps and I didn't feel the need to do much on that Friday (December 23rd). We had a "meeting" which wasn't work related at all. It was simply called to exchange gifts. Luckily, I had mine on me that day. I gave them all gift certificates because I don't know them all too well. They liked them nonetheless. Gift certificates to an electronics store is always a plus. You can't have too many electronics. What they gave me was unbelievable. Stuart (my boss, the company president and now a very good friend of mine) and Jeanine (my other boss and good friend) bought me a whole load of Arizona Green Tea and several dozen boxes of Pocky. It seems they've caught on to my character. It was ALOT of tea and Pocky. It should've lasted for at least two weeks but unfortunately, I went crazy and drank/ate it all in three days.

My second gift was from Sylvia, the research/marketing girl. She bought me "Magic Beer". It was imported from England and was more of a collectors item. There was a picture of a seductive witch on the label "brewing" it up. Sylvia pretty much bought it for me because she bought EVERYONE alcohol and she knows I'm into pretty bottles. It was awesome. I drank it on New Years but I'll get to that later.

We left the offices around 6:00pm to carpool to Stuart house where we were going to have dinner and do some pre-drinking before heading out. Because nobody planned on driving that night we all split up and dropped off our cars home and Stuart came around to pick us up. I went with Sylvia and stayed outside her house for a while, chatting it up with one of her friends, Joey. He was a funny guy. After Stuart came around, we sidetracked our trip to his place by cruising around looking at Christmas lights. I must say some people loooooove using their electricity. But oh, the displays were beautiful!

After finally making it to Stuart’s place, we all sat in his living room and just talked about stuff for a few hours. We also ordered pasta. I had some bacon carbonara stuff and oh it was just too effin' delicious. The pasta was freshly made and everything.

At around 10:00pm we headed out. Where to? I'm not entirely sure. In fact it hurts just trying to remember the place. All I remember is sitting down, pumping myself with alcohol, seeing really cool flashy lights and a small Asian waitress with lots of energy.

Fortunately for me, I'm the type of guy who remembers EVERYTHING, despite the amounts of drinks I usually consume. So although I didn't get drunks off my own ass, I do remember the other three getting pretty plastered. What happened to them? Moose-humping, visions of Santa, yelling at strangers, a cape made of free newspapers and the list goes on. So I, the youngest, had to take responsibility for my superiors. We all went back to Stuarts place and someone spent the next hours hugging the porcelain bowl. I headed home around 4:00am because I had parties to go to the next day.

Stuart lent me his CD library to listen to over the holidays. He has about 60 - 70 completely random CDs. I took a taxi home and the driver let me listen to one of the CDs. I forgot who it was we were listening to but it was very soothing. The cabbie seemed to like it a lot. As soon as I walked through the door, I turned on al the indoor Christmas lights and decorations and just started singing out loud. Sure, it was 6:00am and the sun was going to rise soon, but I didn't care. It was the day of Christmas Eve!! I then passed out until 2pm later that day.

So like I said, I woke up in the early afternoon with just enough time to rush out and do my last minute shopping stuff. The mall I visited was so damn crowded. I loved every minute of it. I received a phone call from my mom about halfway into my shopping spree saying that a couple of packages came for me. As much as I wanted to finish my list, I wanted to get home and see what the packages were. So I doubled my shopping powers and just blitzed through the mall and in no time, I was finally done. I then stopped for a rest and had myself a nice mochaccino.

As soon as I crashed through the door at home, I dropped the dozen shopping bags I held in my hands and went to my room. On my bed, I saw two cute little packages. One in a large yellow envelope and another in a nice little green & white one. I went for the yellow one first. Inside was my prize DVD from a drawing I entered at the EXPO last year. I had actually won! Yeah. I was given the opportunity to choose a DVD so I picked Burst Angel because I had already seen a lot of the other ones. Besides, Burst Angel is about chicks with guns. Whoo-hoo! So yeah. I got my DVD that day.

The second package was a complete surprise to me. It was from our resident giggler, Shadowlight! I honestly wasn't expecting it but it made me ridiculously happy. I found a card inside with a little wrapped gift. The card read holidays wishes and there was also a letter which was just so darn cute. (Shadow, I really like your cursive writing.)

Being the cutie-pie she is, she mentioned that she hopes I like it. I then opened up the gift and "liking it" doesn't even begin to describe what I felt for this gift of mine.

I really had no idea what it was just by feeling it. But once I opened a corner of the gift, shiny green paper reflected light like an emerald. It was totally a "Golden Ticket" moment. Inside were two bags of TEA!!! It read Chá Gorreana and Chá Orange Pekoe on each package. Wahh, I was totally happy. Teas from across the seas just really made my day. Shadow, if you're reading this, thank you so very very much.

Later the evening, it was time to gather with my dad's side of the family. We all went to my uncle’s house. There were about 8 families there which equaled to about 40 something people. Since it was a family gathering, my grandma requested that EVERYONE perform something for the family talent show. There was piano playing, dancing, singing, and my dad being the family joker, did impressions of almost everyone in the family. It's awesome how he nailed each individual quirk. So he got first prize, an envelope with... let's just say different coloured paper. (Mind you, we live in Canada. this wasn't anything to do with arts and crafts). I got second prize for singing/dancing to Wham's "Last Christmas". I advise you not to imagine it. Please.. For your sake and mine.

During the tired/chatty hours of the early morning on Christmas day, I left the house to visit a friend of mine who lived close by. His family tried to feed me too but I was too full. I ate a bit anyway. I also did some drinking at his place with his sister. She's not very big so after a few shots, she was already headbanging to the music playing inside her head. It was fun to watch. I returned to my uncle’s house and bit of the droggy side. It was late and I was really tired.

We all headed home pretty late that night. On my way to the house, I stopped for a moment to look for a star to wish on. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy that night but I waited regardless. When I found my star, I sent out a wish for someone. I've no idea if it came true and reached her but I'm pretty sure that twinkly ball of fire in space did something good.

Christmas Day finally arrived. It was time to celebrate Christmas with my mother's side of the family. Since my aunt lives close to where I used to live, I thought it would be a good time to pay a visit to my best friend since kindergarten (after partying though). I decided to bring my drum because I heard that my cousin (formerly Mr. Rhythm Guitarist) was bringing his guitar. It's too bad they didn't specify. He brought his stupid acoustic. I wanted to jam, dammit! *whines* Oh well. It was mostly his loss anyway.

Again, the house was pretty crowded. Maybe 35+ people there. A bunch of them included my cousin’s friends who didn't want to spend time with their families or something. Anyway, they were a neat little audience for when I jammed away in the garage. Since it was Christmas, I was given permission to open the garage doors and just play as loud as I wanted to. So in a cold car-hole, I drummed my life away before the empty silence of a snowy street. It was so beautiful.

I think there was one point in the night where I chased Mr. Rhythm Guitarist down the street with a golf club. *shrugs* It felt pretty necessary at the time. Kodak moment for sure.

When it started to get too late for drumming, I went inside to see that a vicious game of chess was in progress. The cousins and I had a good chat about random stuff while it happened. Oh! I forgot to mention we had TWO turkeys and 20-something big-ass crabs. Plus a bunch of other food. It was one hell of a feast. I ate a lot too. Me be happy.

When it was nearing time to leave, I took the car for a quick trip to my bestest friends house. It was pretty late for I gave him a call before arriving. Thankfully, the bugger was awake. We had a quick chat when I got there. He couldn't believe it was me. I had changed quite a bit since I last saw him two years ago. Man, it was awesome to see him again. I handed him his card and he was pretty surprised and a bit embarrassed. He didn't have anything for me. I wasn't expecting anything but he told me to stay put while he got my present. *laughs* Guess what he gave me. A travel pak of Fruit Loops. *laughs again* He's was always a joker. I accepted it as a true gift though. He told me to come by again sometime soon to chill out like the old days. Ah man.. Twas good times...

On Boxing Day, I wanted to do some shopping but I decided not to. There was a different fate for the money I earned from work and received for Christmas. Instead, my family and I invited my Godfather out for Christmas dinner. And like always, he brought along with him several boxes of surprises. Every year since I was born, he's given everyone something just incredibly cool, whether we asked for something or not. I swear, he's Gandalf. Only a wizard would be able to do things as awesomely as he does. And he's British!

So we all went out for a seafood dinner. Delicious as always. When we got back to our place, it was gift opening time. This was also the time where each immediate family member would exchange gifts. But first, gift from Gandalf. Little little sis got a Chronicles of Narnia box set because our old books were lost (dammit). Little sis received... Well, I forgot because I'm still pretty stoked about what *I* got.

So my first gift was a curious little box. Inside were imported teas from BC. Some sort of magical Native Indian teas with really cool names like Crowberry, Cloudberry and Arctic Blend. And when I say magical, I bloody mean magical. When I had my first pot, I swear I saw the Northern Lights. *laughs* It was a great gift because green tea makes me energetic so it's good to have magic tea at night. Make me all sleepy and cracked up...

Ooh! I also got a huge box of Jelly Bellies. I love jelly beans to the max. It was an awesome gift too.

Now the last gift from Gandalf really made me smile. He gave me an opera CD. (If you didn't know already, I'm an avid opera-goer but I don't talk about it much. It's more of a private pleasure.) So anyway, this wasn't just ANY opera CD. This CD is by the East Village Opera Company. What they did was they took famous arias from several different operas and gave them a bit of a modern sound. Now to some, this might not seem like a big thing but I'm telling you, each aria sounded twice as beautiful. My fave track HAS to be Nessum Dorma. If you don't have a clue about what I speak of, you are seriously missing out. Nessun Dorma was soooooo beautifully done, I swear, I come close to crying every time I listen to it. It's THAT good. Then second bit I like about the album is that there are DRUMS. Yes. Modern rock-styled drums to give a beat to most tracks. There usually aren't any drums in the orchestra at operas (except the timpani and maybe a snare) so it was a wicked addition to what was already a sweet sound.

My sisters also gave me some gifts. It was too sweet of them because they picked each on out themselves this year. Usually mom just tags their name on something she picked out because she knows what I need. So my gifts from the little sisters included a new pair of headphones and some anime posters. Little sis gave me a gift that totally made me flip out. If any of you have seen the series Densha Otoko (Train Man), you'll know that the main character (Yamada-san) frequently talks to a Kororo puppet when seeking advice. Of course the puppet doesn't talk but you get the point. We all do it sometimes, right? Anyway, little sis bought me a Kororo plushie! Now *I* have something to talk to when I’m in a mess! It's too cool.

So that night, I spent in peace listening to opera and drinking tea. It couldn't have been any better.

Though the happiness of the post is on quite a roll, I'm afraid I'll have to break it by mentioning that the Scrooge within kicked in when Mr. Bassist (OF ALL PEOPLE) sent a text message saying he misses my drumming. That bastard didn't mention our FRIENDSHIP once. Without it, drumming with him wouldn’t have been possible. Mr. Guitarist and Mr. Vocalist also sent their wishes but I’m till not talking to them. Just the thought of all the crap they bring just ticks me off. I'm in such a good mood these days; I don't need them around to kill it.

Sorry about that. It had to be mentioned, right? Right...

That week, not much happened. Since the holidays lasted until Jan 9th for me, I had plenty of time to rest. That's precisely what I did for most of the time. At one point during the week, little sis bought a Zelda game for her Gameboy Advance. It was a neat little game to play into the night. Both sisters are becoming quite the gamers (I'll explain littlest sister later). I couldn't be anymore proud of them. *laughs*

Also during that week, I was in the right mood to write my final letter to Pixie. Now this might seem like a bit of a Scrooge moment but really, I'm being more positive than I thought I'd be. So basically, I'm saying goodbye to her because our relationship as friend is pretty much non-existent and I'm guessing she couldn't care less if I disappeared from her life. Besides, she's got other guys seeking her attention AND I recently discovered she has an "Angel" who she misses very much and talks about in her blog. It's a guy and it's not a family member. That's all I needed to know.

So I worded the letter as carefully as I could. I didn't want to come off as a miserable prick but I also wanted to avoid sounding like I never liked her in the first place. I think I wrote it well. She's coming back from Colombia on the 15th and I'll probably give it to her then. And maybe ask for one last hug. It's kinda neat (not necessarily in a good way) that my relationship with her ended right where it started. Those of you who read my post last year have an idea of what I'm talking about. Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. I became a closer friend than a lot of the other guys dying to be with her. I'm fairly proud of myself for that. I've also changed a bit because of her. For the best and probably for the worst as well. Either way, the experience is something to remember for sure. Thanks, Pixie.

I was hoping to meet up with my POLYSICS buds but I couldn't. Not only because I was a bit busy with other stuff, but also because I didn't have their gifts ready. I still need to add something to something to make that something better. AND I need to sketch up some card as well.

New Years was approaching and I was pretty eager to get my drink on. I had learned that I was bartending that night. We all went to grandma's mansion (well, not really. It's just a really big house) for the party. I think there were about 60 people there that night. It was too cool. I manned the bar like a true tender and mixed up drinks for one and for all. The guests included a lot of family and a bunch of family friends. And a majority of them started getting plastered before the clock struck midnight. I'm happy to report we had over a dozen bottles of Hakutsuru Sake and I'm even happier to report that it was all finished within an hour of exposure to drunken eyes. I saved a bottle for myself and... Whoa... It was goood. I made the mistake of introducing Bazooka Joes (a candy shot) to the guests. It's basically a mixture of three liquors (research them yourself, lazybones) that taste so sweet and so smooth; you can probably down 4 shot even if you're not a real drinker. The mistake part of this is that the alcohol content is fairly high so when it kicks, you can instantly tell who's a happy hyper drunk who'll crash later OR who's a crasher drunk who just passes out right there.

To see family and strangers dance the way they did that night was just... Wow, y'know? It's a good thing to remember it all because you can hold it against them throughout the year. Be careful peoples...

When midnight started to near, I grabbed my final Arizona of the year and my first Arizona of the year. What I did was I drank right through midnight. *shrugs* It's a personal thing, okay?

So midnight came around and there was noise and cheering and hugging and kissing everywhere. I took a step outside to breathe the new air. Ah, what a beautiful start.

The drinking didn't stop until Mr. Bartender said so. Last call came around 4:00am *laughs* so you can be sure that people totally sponged. I think I slept at the bar. It was comfy.

On New Years Day, we all woke up to see Grandma with a bag full of toonies and loonies. It was lucky shower time! Lucky shower time is when happy grandma is filled with the simple joy of being with family so she would start throwing coin in the air. She must've been really happy because the minimum haul was about $50 in coins. I got $89 and I was indeed lucky. Piggy bank had plenty of food that night.

We went home to prepare to littlest sisters birthday the next day (Jan 2nd). She turned 11 that day. The family bought her a Nintendo DS with Mario Kart and Animal Crossing. I'm probably gonna buy her Nintendogs sometime soon because she's been eyeing it for a while on the net. I kinda want to play it too.

So the little sisters got their gameboys. Mom and dad had a new library of DVDs to watch. What about meee? I know. I’ll spend over $2500 for something!

And that's precisely what I did. My parents said as a gift, they'd allow me t buy a new notebook PC for work and school and obviously, for the fun of hauling my own laptop wherever I go. I bought myself a Toshiba Satellite M70-something something with a gig of memory and 100GB of hard drive space. I also got myself an external hard drive with 160GB of space to transfer and store all my stuff from my old PC. I gave that PC to littlest sister. She had a blast talking to me over MSN while she was at my PC and I sat in my room. I thought it was neat too.

I'm typing all this up on it now actually. Look at me go!

Oh yeah. It's orange!

So I'm pretty happy.

Now recently, I've found myself in a strange situation. My dad’s employees are good friends with him. A bunch of them are fathers. Fathers with daughters. Daughters MY age. Now since they seem to know me through my dad, they want their daughters to meet me because they know who I am and such. Last Saturday was the first of a bunch of.. well.. "meetings".

So my family and my dads employees’ families decided to use the excuse of a holiday dinner to set it up. My dad told me the whole story in advance because he felt it was the least he could do before selling me. The girls however, don't have a clue.

Now even if my father DIDN'T tell me, it would've been too bloody obvious anyway. The minute I walked into the restaurant, the father of the girl told me to sit in the corner, opposite the girl. Oh yeah, very subtle.... I was a bit shy at first but I did manage to talk to her for a bit. She was incredibly cute buuuut I didn't feel that "click". Probably because I refused to listen for it. Now what made it weird was that her SISTER was there. And her damn SISTER talked to me even more than she did. Ack...

Overall, the dinner went well. Aside from the obvious hints that they're trying to set us up, it was good. Yes, they were THAT obvious. I mean, nudging my back with an elbow telling me to relax and talk to her every 10 minutes was a bit on the "DUH" side. I think the girls started to clue in too.

So I've returned to work and all. Life in the office is a bit slow but that's how I like it. Big boss is sick so the kiddies can play. When I got home on Monday evening, my dad reported to me that the girl is quite interested in me (despite the act I didn't talk so much and spent most of my time in front of her chewing and drinking). Now the thing here is that her sister is also interested. Apparently they've been arguing with each other. That wasn't the plan now, was it?

I don't remember agreeing to this but it IS a bit amusing. Unfortunately the awkwardness of being sitting in front a girl being "offered" to me doesn't end there. My dad set up a few more "meetings" in the future. I don't necessarily wanna go through with it all but I'm really curious to see how everything goes. Could be fun, right?

My dad was joking that the fathers have been offering him gifts of widescreen TVs and various other dowries. I though it was hilarious. "You're exchanging me for electronics!? Bastard!" *laughs*

It got me thinking a bit actually. What am I looking for in a relationship? I'm happiest with the simplest things. You know those conversations you have one-on-one with someone where you start talking about one thing and it leads into hours and hours of other topics? A conversation that just becomes so intriguing, you lose track of time and even when you do realize the amount that has flown by, you still want to continue? even if you're in a public place like a coffee shop or park bench, everything around you just fades to black because you and that special person has this almost unreal connection with one another? That's what I want. And the relationship doesn't even have to include all that typical boyfriend/girlfriendy stuff like holding hands or showering with gifts (which to be honest with you, I've wanted before.). No. The special someone just has to talk and listen. Just tell me about your life because I'm interested. Tell me what you're thinking. What you're feeling. I wanna know it all. Because I am into you. That's it. Simple, huh?

It is. But even something as simple as that can be so far from being a reality, it dwells only in your mind. Still, it can come true, right? Of course!

Enin's One and ONLY New Years Resolution:

Life is a rollercoaster. It's intimidating at times but a fun thrill like no other. There are highs that reach the sky and you're as happy as can be. There are lows deeper than the pits of hell where even the scorching heat of anger and misery isn't enough to evaporate your tears. Like a rollercoaster, life is fast. Every year you live is another section. My resolution this year isn't to strive for 100% happiness. It isn't to achieve the greatest of successes.


My resolution is to enjoy the ride while it lasts coz dude, you've only got ONE ticket.

And I'd also like to wish you a great ride in 2006.


Well. I think I've spoken enough. Just as a little additional tidbit, it took me 5 days to write this stupid post. 5 DAYS! Yeah. I've been putting it off for awhile. It's long but if you know me well enough, I love my details. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed typing it up with my new toy.

We may only have a relationship through pixels in pictures, little bits of text and perhaps a few voice convos here and there. I just want you all to know, you mean more to me than you know. Thank you for your wonderful words, your kind wishes and especially your friendship. I couldn't ask for more.

Guys & gals... We've got one hell of a year ahead of us. Here's to you and everything that makes you smile.



CHEERS! 2006!!!


- enin -
Comments (9)