Blink and Smell the Roses

In the Music World...
Last night's Blink 182/Weezer concert was like I had always imagined, sans the horrible traffic and the stunningly good looking company. I don't think it even sunk in that I was witnessing freakin Weezer and bloody Blink 182 until after the concert. Highlights: Rivers' dance moves, shouting out Burndt Jamb, holding up the weezer sign, Tom's banter and whiny voice, Travis' sheer awesomeness rotating around the sky, Blink's band moment, and of course, Mark Hoppus still being the best. Like Halloween on Christmas.
It was indeed the perfect last shabang of Summer, 2009.
And now, there are new albums from Muse, Relient K, Switchfoot, Weezer, and Phil Wickham to look forward to. Wowzers.

In the Sports World...
The Cardinals are entering the playoffs, and with that the hopes and joys of the playoffs and hopefully a return to the World Series. The Rams are starting up a new season, and with that the fears and dissapointment of another embarassing campaign. I mean... hopes and joys of a clean slate. The Blues are starting up soon as well, and with that the promise of seeing them in Anaheim with a good chance to actually win this year. College football is back, and with that the confusing and unfamiliarity of the BCS and a new generation of Mizzou Tigers. And justtt a little bit off on the horizon is college basketball, and with that the triumphant glory and utter brilliance that is UCI basketball.

In Dvd's World...
Summer 2009 was not quite what I expected in some ways, but looking back now I would have to say it was a satisfactory success. Like a lot of things in my life, it really picked up in the end, what with grades turning out for the better, the founding of turtle rock vista apartment 122, ELC in Hesperia (a reminder to love radically and with risks), and the slow but sure process of creating friendships that I will cherish for a long time. God's plan never quite develops quite like what we had in mind, but the reassuring thing is that He knows what He's doing. I find that any initial fears or worries are not only taken away, but in the end improved for the better.

There may only be a week left before classes start, but the beautiful thing is, it only gets better from here. In the words of the immortal Keisha Phillips, Let's do this like Brutus!

and i'm not talking about Spiderman

This is my gift, this is my curse.
(A little dramatic, I know.)

eventful

Resolved: That it is worse/harder for the cool roller coaster to break down right before you're about to go on it for the first time, then to be sorely disappointed by a hyped up roller coaster that didn't turn out that great.

Also, this extended weekend was definitely the last shabang of summer school summer.
Childhood couches, revolving sushi bars (inari), loaded questions (mistaken someone for Diane), Irvine dim sum (ginger tofu dessert), hw cramming (torture), Silent ninja (getting hit in areas other than my hands), Stories about Anne (no no no!), Target (1 day too late axe/mikeykoo), Iron Chef (hawaiian chicken, red pepper salad decorating), and 9 person karaoke (can't take my eyes off of you, two words: jason chung).
Definite Priceless stretch.

Noticing the Little Things: Eye Contact

I guess when it comes down to it, eyes are just a complex set of lenses and muscles that allow the ability of sight. Camera lenses can do the same thing, but there's a reason why robotic eyes are so creepy.

Eyes are in essence a direct portal into someone's soul. Cover everything else up, and you could still tell if someone was giving you an icy glare, a far off mind-on-something-else look, a roll of annoyance, or watering lip-biting emotion.

Staring deep into someone's eyes while a smile creeps up on their face can be as affectionate as a tight embrace, and as reassuring as concrete spoken words.

The added bonus is that it's very hard for eyes to lie. Empty words and empty hugs are everywhere, but I don't think I've ever experienced a fake gaze of affection. Tis unfortunate, but with reason, that this special eye contact is considerably harder to find.

Songs of the Moment:
Sing, Sing, Sing - Chris Tomlin
Phantom Limb - The Shins
First Day of my Life - Bright Eyes
In the Still of the Night (I'll Remember) - Boyz II Men

Although Unnecessary

Went to Harvest Fest today, drawn by the "headlining" act of Relient K. I was pretty excited, despite this being my 7th time seeing Matty T and the boys. However, they only ended up playing 5 songs (Who I Am Hates Who I've Been, High of 75, Forgiven, Office/5 dollar footlong, Be My Escape), and I was stuck on the walkways watching them in the middle of the infield, so it wasn't a concert feel at all. I was disappointed by that whole ordeal, since I definitely wasn't there to see Skillet or Greg Laurie.

However, we decided to stay, and walked around to the area directly behind home plate. I'm not sure what we were looking for, since the place was beyond capacity, with even the seats in the outfield, behind the stage, being full. Then, all of a sudden, the usher looks at us and says "three? come with me" and leads us to the fourth row behind home plate. Definitely one of those everyday miracles.

But at the end of the day, there were so many little things I complained about or mocked and focused on.

Did Skillet have to jump down to the field, fall, and run awkwardly around the stadium? Did Greg Laurie have to go on tangents about jumbo shrimp, women drivers (ok this one is fine in my book), Shia Lebeaouf, and Travis Barker? Did Relient K have to waste valuable stage time playing silly covers? The answer is no. People include things or do things that are unnecessary or bad decisions that can leave a sour taste in our mouths. It is all too easy to go back and chastise them for those small things. But looking back at the grand scheme of their intentions, do those small things really matter? In the end, we should appreciate what people are doing, or just that they're there for us, and let the little things go, even if they strike personal pet peeve chords in us.

living by yourself

Pros:
1. You can sing loudly and generally make a lot of noise without fear of anyone noticing you and thinking you're a bad singer/freak.
2. No one else making noise when you don't want noise.
Cons:
1. Too much eery quiet.
2. Ok screw this list, it's just going to sound depressing and lame.

Resolution: I'm going to have roommates until I get married.

raspberries

I haven't been eating enough fruit lately (but then again according to my mom I never have enough fruit, ever), so I decided to have a thing of raspberries tonight. Summertime must be a good time for the berries of rasp, because these suckers were huge. Unlike previous boxes of berries, I did not need to add any "sugar" and thus was blissfully flicking these gigantic berries of joy into my mouth, heartily enjoying that unique mini-seed popping that only raspberries can offer.

Suddenly, my prancing taste buds came to a screeching halt. The raspberry that had just entered my mouth was definitely coated with... concentrated dishwashing liquid soap.

Thinking this run to the sink was all too familiar, the soap proved to be much harder to rinse out of my mouth than salt. Even though the salt was more overpowering, at least it is a generally accepted cooking ingredient. The soap on the other hand, was busy killing off 99.9% of the beneficial bacteria in my mouth, and definitely had no business being on a raspberry (that wasn't stuck to a dirty plate).

Sometimes, things are simply out of your control.