a quicky

I'd like to assume that I'm a nice person. I'm very of the mentality of "be loyal to me and I'll be loyal to you". I'm proud of the fact that, except for a few slip-ups that I'm not particularly proud of but have accepted, I have carried that mentality with me for years.

I'm usually the person that does a lot for people and has little to show for it; I take after my mother dearly in that sense. I'm willing to walk a mile for you even if you'll only take a few steps for me. It's just how I am.

I can be a raging bitch too, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you have to put your guard up and that's how I do it.

Finding God has a lot to do with my appeal for loving those who love me. I'm eternally grateful for the things He has blessed me with in life. Especially the little things.

I love the little things in life; those things we constantly assume are just things we deserve in life. They really are my favorite.

About half an hour ago, I got a message on Facebook from someone I didn't know. Any activity on my Facebook automatically gets forwarded to my email so I'm not constantly logged into my account, but so I know if anything important needs to be addressed. I had just finished the latest episode of The Office (I'm all caught up now! Woo!) and saw I had something in my inbox. It was a message from someone I didn't know about my flash drive. They said they had found it in the Ragsdale computer lab and they wanted to return it to me.

I thought it was a joke at first. I didn't even remember leaving it in there. But as I thought about it, I was pretty sick that day and my flash drive was the last of my worries. I responded and it turns out they lived nearby and so he called me to ask where I was so he could deliver it to me. Can we just talk about how nice this person is already? Not only did they willingly decide to return my flash drive, but bringing it to my dorm? I don't even care about the possibility of the fact that he actually probably just stole all my essays and works on it, but he brought it back.

And that made an already good day even better.

We had a little conversation afterwards too. He was cute and wearing a burnt orange Keep Austin Weird t-shirt. Like I told my best friend Jeremy, it's pretty obvious we're going to fall in love and get married now.

I should be reading for a quiz tomorrow, but fuck it. I'm feeling so inspired.

Tonight in bible study, we read Mark and the story about the widow giving up everything for God. It helped me realize just how selfless my parents were, and are, this weekend. They came down to see me, got a suite at a hotel so we could hang out as if we were at home, bought me things I honestly don't need but simply wanted, and didn't even get mad at me when they should've been furious about me getting them lost in Austin.

I have an amazing life. I'm one of very few people in the world that gets a chance to attend a university and get a higher education. I have the world at my feet and it's their for the grabbing, all because my parents have sacrificed so much and because God has been so great and blessed me. It's so humbling.

Take this and do what you think this week: It costs nothing to be honest, loyal and true. And to pay it forward.

Thanks and Hook'em.

let's start a riot

There are those days when you want to die. And there are those days where you feel absolutely inspired.

This week has had its fair share of those.

There are few things in life I love more than Arsenal Football Club. I realize I'm not from North London. I realize I may only get a chance to simply visit the N5 if I'm lucky. But there's something to be said for someone who gets up at 7:30am on a Saturday morning for something. The day started off well enough with a 3-0 win over Tottenham (a club I hate so much they don't even get their name bolded). Fantastic.

There are also mysteries in my life that I wonder how I get into them. Like dressing as a One Night Stand for Halloween. Or venturing into unknown underground forest raves. Or dancing on bridges in parks. Or showing up at a party that has nothing to drink. Or wearing heels in mud at the previously mentioned forest rave. Or time traveling.

And then there's the days in my life I hate bacteria. The days in my life I hate germs. The days in my life I hate everyone around me. The days in my life where I'm stuck in bed and miss classes because I feel so shitty.

And then there's the times in life when you hear Barack Obama speak and you're absolutely inspired to do something about life.

To another week.

done it all before

When I was in the 7th grade, I was introduced to Taking Back Sunday. It was back in the day when John Nolan was still in the band and it wasn't just annoying ass Adam thinking he was so awesome for being able to swing a mic around. Through that band though, I fell in love with their "rivals", Brand New. The lyrics of a certain Jesse Lacey spoke to me more than anything I could've ever imagined. I figured that BN would be the soundtrack to my high school years.

And Deja Entendu came along. And The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me came along. Both reaffirmed my previous beliefs.

At the end of my high school years, Third Eye Blind seemed destined to take over the oh-so-coveted spot of my favorite band. But as I began my university journey, Daisy came out. It isn't my favorite Brand New album of all time, let alone my overall favorite, but it spoke to me. It helped me fall back in love with my first true love.

And last night, I got to meet my true love, face to face.

The concert as originally at Stubb's BBQ on the 27th. Some sort of weird thing must've happened because I then received an email from the ticket agency and the band street team telling me the concert was now the 28th at La Zona Rosa. It was all fine for me. I knew I'd be seeing my favorite band regardless.

A friend of mine dropped me off after my odd weekly BioFeedback sessions. I managed to get in line inside. Within minutes, the line to get in was curving around the small venue. I was to meet someone there and she arrived later than I did so I had to wait in line on my own. I stood in front of some nice people who made fun of someone we thought had arrived with his mother. Eventually, after 6pm, the doors opened. I guess I hadn't realized how many people were in front of me because the stage was already packed by the time I got there. I looked around for a good spot and found myself on the right side. Finally the person I was to meet up found me and we stood and talked. She saved my spot as I went and got a Tour t-shirt. I'm wearing it as I write this.

The wait felt like forever and I was skeptical of how I would be able to see things. Two skinny yet tall guys stood in front of me. But then there was this terrible fat couple who could do nothing but make out the entire show. They also smelled. There was a spot in front of the barriers that the person I met up with kept telling me to go for since I am so small. I was about to ask if I could stand in front of someone when Thrice came out. The lights went off and I made my move. Best move I've ever made.

Thrice was boring. All their shit sounds alike. The bouncer in front of me, who I dubbed Carlos, and the people around me made fun of the 5 people who were into Thrice's set. They sang a few songs and finally it was time for what I had come for.

Musically, Brand New is top notch. They sound great live. But as a show in general? The band doesn't interact with the crowd as much as I thought they should. There was no acknowledgment of them even playing in Austin. There was no real talking to the crowd at all. Are my standards just high? Or is Jesse Lacey the saddest man in the world? It's almost as if he lives in a permanent Blue Period. He honestly looks like he can't bear to be on stage. I still sang along and screamed and clapped and jumped up and down. Jesse's mood wasn't going to ruin my time.

In the end, I lost my voice and my body is still in pain. But I got great pictures and Jesse's pick from Carlos, the friendly bouncer. Afterwards, I got some Wendy's and ended up watching some Whitest Kids U Know and Scream in my RA's room.

Are Brand New still my favorite band of all time? Yes. Without a doubt. But was it the best show of my life? Nope. Third Eye Blind takes the prize for that.

I still have one more class to go today. Before that, I will try to download the new Lil' Wayne mixtape. I still have no costume for Halloween. I hope that gets fixed soon.

Until next time.

that Texas Fight

It's a beautiful day in Austin, Texas. It's sunny, but not humid. There's a little breeze. It's perfect weather for just lounging outside and perhaps reading a book. So that's exactly what I did earlier today; I finished The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I got it like a month ago and always intended to breeze through it like I had with Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. But I'm in this tiny thing called college and sometimes I just didn't have time. But it's done now. I don't know how I feel about the end. It had a great twist, but the ending was boring I felt. I wonder if this is Robert Langdon's last adventure. I sure hope not; he's quite an exciting fellow.

But this wasn't even the beginning of my day. Now that Interlull, the phrase coined by Arseblog, is over, I knew I had to be up and early to watch Arsenal take on Birmingham. I went with my new football buddy, Luke, to this little place I found about that's downtown called Fado's Irish Pub. We arrived a little early so we decided to explore around the city, but not before Luke called the douchebag looking Manchester United supporters a few choice words (he's Scottish but a proud Liverpool fan). We came back and took our seats in each club's respected section (ours happened to be next to each others so we sat together). My club ended the day with the 3 points; his didn't. It didn't help that the douchebags invaded the Liverpool area. Ah, so is the game of football. But we did have some Torchy's Tacos at halftime. They were quite good and Luke paid for both of us. A nice lad to say the least :)

Now, I woke up at 7:30am but I was still full of energy. I got back to my room, changed into my Texas Longhorns football jersey from my Arsenal shirt, and got ready to cheer on my 'Horns. It was such a ridiculous game with so many mistakes on both sides, but OU lost, as usual. 16-13. Not quite 45-35, but it's still a Texas win. Don't worry, The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You.

Despite my failures in my math class, I got a 103 in my PoliSci midterm and 17/20 on a fairly hard Political Controversies class. If only I were as successful in math...

And 10 hours after I woke up, I'm not sure what to do with myself. Half of Austin isn't here since they're all in Dallas because of the game. I'll have to think of something to do tonight.

Until the next great day.

in the name of

I should be doing homework. I should be studying for my midterm. I should be drying my hair. I should be doing everything but blogging.

But about an hour ago, I felt I was touched by the grace of God and naturally I felt inclined to blog about it, as is the way of our generation. But really, I found myself not just believing, but knowing, that He truly exists and works through us. It was nice to feel that way with a tough week of midterms ahead of me.

I went home for the last time in a long time most likely this past weekend. It was like I had never left. Sleeping in my own bed, a queen sized bed with a plethora of pillows, is something I really can't take for granted anymore. Neither is having an amazing set of parents who would do absolutely anything for me. I'm forever gracious of their love and the blessings I have in my life.

Anyways, like I said, I have 2 dreaded midterms this week. Back to back. Monday and Tuesday. Terrific way to start the week. I don't know how I feel about each of them quite yet. Maybe that's because I haven't studied for them yet. I also have some math homework to finish. Such is my life.

But the really cool thing is that this week I'm hopefully starting to volunteer at Front Steps here in Austin. It's an amazing organization dedicated to helping the homeless into their ultimate goal - getting a home. It's supposed to be an "emergency shelter", but especially with the way things are now economically, it's harder and harder for people to meet the goal of living under their own roof. But that doesn't stop them from trying and it certainly just inspires me even more to help them. I'm absolutely excited about the possibilities I feel I will gain from helping and I hope they can gain something to - someone they can trust and believe in. "It's hard to love when you don't believe in it." I want to help people believe in it.

Sometimes I look at all I have in my life and disgust myself with the fact that I want MORE. 2 brand new pairs of Uggs aren't enough; I want another 2 pairs. A Blackberry, my second in 2 years, isn't enough. The pair of Ray Ban Aviators isn't enough. Nothing is enough. Yet for some people, that's all they have - nothing.

Here's to a good week and a couple of As on my exams.