LOVE in 2009

At Years End…What’s Next???

Love in 2009

As 2009 came rolling around, I looked back and thought about what had happened this past year. I thank God for all he’s done for me in the year 2008. The loving family that he has provided for me, and great friends who have been there since the beginning. I look back at 2008 and there’s nothing I would have changed. If I would have changed something, then I wouldn’t be who I am today. Something would be different, and who knows whether it would have been good or bad.

Graduating with a BS in finance

May 20, 2008: 3 years at PCC, 2 years and a summer session at CSUN. It took 5 years and a summer session but I FINALLY graduated from college. It was a tough road for me, not knowing what major to go in to, and when I finally found one, I knew it wasn’t right for me. But for me to say that I had finally finished school and received my bachelor’s degree is something I am very proud of. School was very very tough, but I feel accomplished that I was able to finish. There were moments when I believed I wouldn’t be able to finish. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for the rest of my life (and I’m still not sure) and because of that I just wanted to give up. But I had a handful of GREAT friends at PCC and CSUN that helped me get through all the years. Hilary, Hut, Melanie, Kate, and Kendra truly made my college experience worth wild. I know I could have gone another direction in my college path. I could have gone to a university at the very beginning and dorm, and may have met many more people instead of commuting home for 5 years. But this was the path that God had chosen for me and I can’t complain about it. Now that I’m out of college, I’m pretty sure that I do not want to pursue a future in finance. So if God’s plan for my future requires me to go back to school, I’m totally open for it and I’m willing to go again. But for the time being, graduating this year was a big step in my life. Also I can’t begin to express how much I appreciate all who showed up. Originally I thought it would just be my immediate family, but when I looked over from the graduates, and saw mom, dad, Melanie, Des, Glenna, Gloria, Josh, Jose, Robert, and Slim, I couldn’t help but smile. Thanks all for making this a wonderful day.

Vision Tour 2008: Serbia

July 15 – August 6, 2008: This year was my 8^th year in Vision. Second straight year we went to Serbia for our summer mission’s trip. I cannot express how lucky I am to have had the chance to travel with Vision and share God’s word with people. How many people do you know can say that they’ve been to Serbia? Better yet, how many Asian Americans do you know??? Overall God put Vision in my life and has opened my eyes to the world and has given me a heart for them. 2001: Philippines. 2002: Cambodia. 2003: Canada. 2004: China. 2005: Philippines. 2006: Thailand 2007: Serbia. and once again Serbia this year. It was such a blessing to be able to serve with the same people from the Serbian church. Sarah, Tamara, Tanja, Marija, Misha, Do, Ivan, and Alex. It was SO good seeing all of you once again. In 2007 I knew we would see each other again some time. And God chose this year as the best time. It was an even bigger blessing getting to know them and having them travel with us. The Vision team this year was EXCELLENT! I feel like everyone got along and it was just such a wonderful experience. Even though most of the team was younger in age, I believe we all learned so much and this summer’s trip is something we can take and live our lives with. Brian, Cynthia, Stephanie, Glenna, Joe, Mike, Jaspher, Josh, Brandon, Eric, J9, Slim, Long, Fiona, CZ, Alex, Melanie, Justin and Keiko, thank you all for making this summer’s trip something to always remember. I really enjoyed traveling with you and doing God’s work with all of you. Even though I have decided not to join vision in 2009, I know God still has a ministry plan for me. I am open to whatever doors He will open for me. I’m not saying my Vision years are over (I still have a certain John Ngai record that everyone thinks I’m going to pursue). But as for this year, God will open something else for me. If He’s calling me back to Vision in future years, then it’s Vision that I will join again. But my life is certainly in His hands. His hands are the hands that hold the world.

Disneyland

December 02, 2007 – December 2, 2008: I never ever thought that in my lifetime I would ever buy a Disneyland annual pass. And believe it or not, even though I started dating Glenna, it wasn’t her idea for me to buy a pass. It was my sister Melanie that brought up the idea and thought it would be fun for me to buy a pass. And let me just say, now that I have had a pass for year, I don’t think I can ever go any year WITHOUT one. This year has been such a MAGICAL year. It helped that I had friends who LOVED Disneyland with all their hearts, and that allowed me to fall in love with such a magical land. It was great going there at 8pm with Glenna just to watch the firework show…twice a week =). It was nice of Gloria and Mike to invite me to join them right after I had finished a hard final. Disneyland was the place where I met my Jonas family. I believe I grew closer to Kim Cheng and Justin Lau because of Disneyland. I also got to meet the famous Baby V through Disneyland. The three of them plus, Glenna and myself make up of the Jonas family, a family that knows how to have a fun and wonderful time. Disneyland was the place where I had THE BEST scavenger hunt in the world. Gloria/Dillon’s extravaganza scavenger hunt. Some might say that the final count to determine the winner was a bit questionable =D. But now we all look back at that and laugh about how much fun we had. Thank you all for joining and participating =). Team Jonas VS. the others….Gloria, Josh, Melanie, Mai, Peter and Debbie. And a BIG thanks to Mike for officiating it. As for other Disneyland memories, who needs clubbing when you can dance to ‘get low’ in front of the castle with Justin, Kim, Echo and Glenna. Or who can forget our famous DREAM picture on Tower of Terror with Ellison, Lisa, Kim, Justin and myself. Or meeting up with Tim, Echo, Kim, and T MONEY (Tiff) on Easter Sunday. Then there was that day when we brought all three Chioy siblings, Brian, Brandon and Amanda with us to Disneyland. That day we met up with Melanie, George, Kim, Baby V, Ellison and Justin. We all got on Tower of Terror and prayed for Josh as we went down. We witnessed first hand that prayer does work because Josh was able to survive to drop. But the best time at Disneyland is every single time I got to spend it with Glenna. And trust me, we went all the time, whenever we were like, what should we do?? Disneyland it was. Thank you Glenna for showing me the ropes to the park and making me fall in love with the magic kingdom. So many things happened and can happen in Disneyland. I’m so excited for another year there and I’m looking forward to what magic it brings in 2009. Who’s ready to go and have fun again???

Having the best Girlfriend ever!

January 19, 2008 – Present: I know its very cliché for a guy to say they have the best girlfriend ever, but I honestly believe it. I have someone who cares a lot about me and will put others in front of herself. I have someone who accepts me for who I am, and who I am may not always be who I appear to be. I have someone who will love me despite of my flaws and my failures. I have someone who is always happy to hear my voice and who can sit with me in front of a TV and say it was time well spent =). It will be our one year anniversary in about a week and a half from this blog. And I gotta say it’s been the best year ever. Lets start from the beginning, Melanie and Gloria are pretty good friends and for as long as I can remember, they’ve been trying to hook me and Glenna up. I would always deny it thinking that Glenna was too cool for me =D. Well we started hanging out towards the end of 2007 and I guess we hit it off. Or at least I’d like to think we hit it off =). She may disagree and say that I was just ‘alright’ and I was just a friend. But she continued to hang out with me and I started to see that maybe our sisters were right. I ended 2007 by ASKING Glenna that I liked her. That may not make any sense right now, but you can ask her and she’ll gladly explain what I mean.

Anyways, on Saturday January 19^th, I decided to ask Glenna to be my girlfriend because I realized that I wanted to spend more time with her and I wanted to learn more and grow closer to her. Well this year has been such a good year to us. We have learned so much from each other and we’ve learned to grow with each other. We’ve also had so so many adventures. Where do I begin? All of our Disneyland adventures, delicious dinings like Houstons, The Melting Pot, and that place we double dated with Tim and Echo. Unfortunately I forgot the name but that had some pretty sweet crème brule. This was also the year that I’ve been exposed to the most dancing ever. Ever since Glenna made Pac Modern in Spring, I’ve been going to her practices and a few of her competitions. I would just like to say it’s SOOO cool dating a dancer like her =D. Not to mention it makes me look cool. Hahaha. As Glenna’s friend Mary would say, ‘you’re girlfriend is so HOT.’ But I gotta say it’s been such a good experience going to these competitions and watching other dance crews get down! Of course I do have to say Pac Modern beats them all =D Other adventures worth mentioning this year include her clinical trial, where she made some $$$!!!! Glenna showing me around Cerritos, and my first exposure to Boiling Crab…I’d have to say my boiling crab count is now at 6, oh that place is GOOD!!! Americana, Mario Kart, Tetris, dressing like Colts players, Photo shoots, Batman and Batgirl (or Batman and Robin to some people), July 4^th, Starbucks, 24, Lost, Grey’s, Gushers, Smorgasborg, Superbowl Sunday, Better than Homework cake, in n out softball tournament, the endless nights going to KT and JJ’s, and Singapore. The list goes on and on. So many memories with Glenna during 2008. memories that I will always remember and memories that I am very thankful for. Thank you babe for the best year ever. I love you and I always will.

And of course by dating Glenna comes 2 wonderful people who have been so kind to me this year. I would like to show my appreciation to Mike and Gloria for being so hospitable to me and for allowing me to come over anytime. If there’s anyone who can say how much I’ve been over it’s definitely them. I have enjoyed all the times we have all gone out to eat, or whenever Mike cooks….oh he makes some of the most delicious food ever!!! Whenever Mike is bbqing steak, I’ll be over in a heartbeat =). As for Gloria, she has given me the permission to come over anytime and I just appreciate how much she accepts me as well. This past year has been so much easier due to the love that Mike and Glo has showed me. I don’t know what I would do without them.

Family

There’s not much I can say here because of course my family will always be on the top of my list. My dad and I don’t always see eye to eye, actually for the most part our relationship is fist to fist. But deep down inside I know how much he has sacrificed for this family. I know how much he cares, and whenever he gets mad at us, it’s only because he cares so much. My mom and my dad both so endless love to this family, they just have their own way of expressing it. My dad shows love by anger (which isn’t always a bad thing) and my mom shows love by doing things we never ask for. As for my sisters, I believe I have slowly been growing further and further apart from my oldest sister Desiree. It’s not as bad as it sounds especially since we were never close growing up. She has her own career now and I cannot be any happier for her. For how successful she has become and I wish her the best of luck in her future. I actually take a lot of pride in telling my friends about her. They ask what my sisters do, and I am more than happy to say that my oldest sister is a successful OT. As for our relationship, it’s more of a ‘hi’ ‘bye’ relationship, but as for the time being, that’s fine with me. She deserves the best. And for the other sister…Melanie, words cannot describe how important she is to me. Melanie is my best friend. Many of our friends make fun of our friendship, and how close we are. But I think they’re just jealous =D. I’m glad I have a sister I can relate to, talk to, turn to, play with, laugh with, and fight with. That’s right; we still fight from time to time. But the next day we’re laughing again and going to Tommy’s at 1 in the morning. She’s the best sister anyone can ask for I believe. Sometimes I think about how far apart Des and I are, but I think it’s all equalized with my relationship with Mel. I love my family. Like most families, we may not see eye to eye, but God has blessed me with these people and I will not ever take that for granted.

I’m looking forward to 2009. I’m looking forward to what it brings. I’m looking forward to where God puts me in life, whether it’s a new career, or back in school, or exactly where I am now. I’m looking forward to see what new adventures I will be a part of. I’m looking forward to my relationship with Glenna and seeing how we will continue to grow. I’m looking forward to time spent with friends, friends I will always love. We’ll see….Love in 2009.

10 things I want to accomplish in 2009

Here is a list of 10 things I want to accomplish in 2009. There is no specific order to these. I would just like to either work on it, or actually accomplish it.

10.) Learn to play piano chords

09.) Create a Huang family tree

08.) Plan a Trip outside of California with a friend

07.) Buy a mac book OR an iMac

06.) Write a song (music and lyrics)

05.) Start a band

04.) Find another job

03.) Go back to school (only if required by a new job)

02.) Consistenely Blog

01.) Grow Closer to God

Now for my ANNUAL countdowns

MOVIES

I’m going to start with Movies. Some may say I have a lot of movies in my room, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I watch a lot of movies. I’m sure many people may not agree with my top 10 movies of 2008, but I have to inform you that these are just movies that I’ve seen this past year. There may or may not have been better movies, but if I didn’t see them, I couldn’t rank them. So there you have it, my 10 favorite movies of 2008 that I was able to see (and the date they were released).

10.) Cloverfield – January 18

09.) Sex and the City – May 30

08.) Vantage Point – February 22

07.) High School Musical 3 – October 24

06.) Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – May 16

05.) Kung Foo Panda – June 6

04.) The Incredible Hulk – June 13

03.) Get Smart – June 20

02.) Iron Man – May 2

01.) The Dark Knight – July 18

ALBUMS

These are my top 10 albums of 2008. This is more of a variation of different types of genres. You have your Metal, Screamo, R&B, Alternative, Hip Hop etc. Let me just say this about my number 1. Melanie and I looked long and hard for decent concert tickets at a decent price. We even tried calling Kroq for like a week straight trying to win tickets. Unfortunately the cheapest tickets we found were all over $100 and we weren’t sure if we were willing to spend that much for them. Here are my top 10 Albums of 2008 (and the date they were released).

10.) Norma Jean – The AntiMother – August 5

09.) Akon – Freedom – November 25

08.) Rise Against – Appeal To Reason – October 7

07.) Fall Out Boy – Folie A Deux – December 16

06.) Kanye West – 808’s and Heartbreaks – November 24

05.) Underoath – Lost In The Sound of Seperation – September 2

04.) Disturbed – Indestructible – June 3

03.) Anberlin – New Surrender – September 30

02.) Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway – July 29

01.) Coldplay – Viva La Vida – June 17

SONGS

This is the BIG one! This will be my 5^th annual song countdown. I started this countdown in 2004. I counted down my favorite 150 songs of the year. The first 3 years I posted the countdown on my xanga site, and it consisted of 150 songs. In 2007 I counted down my favorite 100 songs and posted it on wordpress and I made a note on facebook. This year, I’ve decided to add 10 bonus songs so I thought I’d countdown my favorite 110 songs of 2008. Again, this is my own opinion so you may or may not agree. But all these songs were played and released on the radio sometime in 2008. The main stations I listen to are Kiis, Kroq, and Power. So these songs made an appearance on these stations, and I only include songs on the radio. If you would to hear the actual countdown, feel free to visit my itunes, for all 110 songs are available.

Dylon’s Top 110 of 2008

Top 110 songs of 2008

110.) Kevin Rudolf – Let It Rock

109.) Katy Perry – Hot N Cold

108.) Armor For Sleep – Hold The Door

107.) Jim Jones – Pop Champagne

106.) Lil Wayne – Lollipop

105.) Nine Inch Nails – Discipline

104.) Timbaland feat. Justin Timberlake – Elevator

103.) Foo Figthers – Summer’s End

102.) Metro Station – Shake It

101.) Hinder – Better Than Me

100.) T-Pain – Chopped and Screwed

099.) Plies – Shawty

098.) Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake – Four Minutes to Save the World

097.) Atreyu – Falling Down

096.) Usher – Love In This Club

095.) Webbie – Independent

094.) Nelly feat. Fergie – Party People

093.) Natasha Bedingfield feat. Sean Kingston – Love Like This

092.) Janet Jackson – Feedback

091.) Death Cab For Cutie – Cath…

090.) Staind – All I Want

089.) Rihanna – Take A Bow

088.) Ray J – Sexy Can I

087.) Panic! At The Disco – 9 In The Afternoon

086.) Snow Patrol – Crack The Shutters

085.) Coldplay – Lost!

084.) Shinedown – Second Chance

083.) Flo Rida – In The Ayer

082.) Linkin Park – In Pieces

081.) Beyonce – Single Ladies

080.) Plies feat. Ne-Yo – Bust It Baby Pt. 2

079.) MGMT – Time To Pretend

078.) Mariah Carey – Touch My Body

077.) One Day As A Lion – Wild International

076.) Leona Lewis – Better In Time

075.) Natasha Bedingfield – Pocket Full of Sunshine

074.) Rise Against – Re Education (Through Labor)

073.) Slightly Stoopid – 2AM

072.) David Banner – Get Like Me

071.) Kanye West – Homecoming

070.) Hollywood Undead – Undead

069.) Three 6 Mafia – Lolli Lolli

068.) 10 Years – Beautiful

067.) Christina Aguilera – Keeps Getting Better

066.) Ne-Yo – Because of You

065.) T.I – Whatever You Like

064.) Colby O’Donis feat. Akon – What You Got

063.) Avenged Sevenfold – Almost Easy

062.) Jimmy Eat World – Always Be

061.) Lil Wayne feat. Bobby Valentino – Mrs. Officer

060.) Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl

059.) Jonas Brothers – Burnin Up

058.) The Pussycat Dolls – When I Grow Up

057.) The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight

056.) Jordan Sparks feat. Chris Brown – No Air

055.) Paramore – Decode

054.) Brandy – Right Here

053.) Fall Out Boy – Beat It

052.) The Offspring – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid

051.) Jesse McCartney – Leavin

050.) Scars On Broadway – They Say

049.) Danity Kane – Damaged

048.) Mariah Carey – Bye Bye

047.) Coldplay – Lovers In Japan

046.) T.I feat. Rihanna – Live Your Life

045.) Taylor Swift – Love Story

044.) Ludacris – What Them Girls Like

043) Britney Spears – Circus

042.) The Game feat. Lil Wayne – My Life

041.) Foo Fighters – Let It Die

040.) Rise Against – Ready To Fall

039.) Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love

038.) Linkin Park – The Little Things Give You Away

037.) Miley Cirus – See You Again

036.) Estelle feat. Kanye West – American Boy

035.) Pennywise – The Western World

034.) E-40 feat. Akon – Wake It Up

033.) The Pussycat Dolls – I Hate This Part Right Now

032.) Britney Spears – Womanizer

031.) Bone Thugs N Harmony feat. Akon – I Tried

030.) John Legend feat. Andre 3000 – Green Light

029.) T-Pain – Can’t Believe It

028.) Lil Wayne – A Milli

027.) Rise Against – The Approaching Curve

026.) Beyonce – If I Were A Boy

025.) Rihanna – Rehab

024.) Lil Wayne – Got Money

023.) Kanye West – Love Lockdown

022.) The Killers – Human

021.) Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon – Dangerous

020.) Rihanna – Disturbia

019.) Flobots – Handlebars

018.) MIA – Paper Planes

017.) Lady Gaga feat. Colby O’Donis – Just Dance

016.) Ne-Yo – Miss. Independent

015.) Death Cab For Cutie – I Will Possess Your Heart

014.) Disturbed – Inside The Fire

013.) Kings of Leon – Sex On Fire

012.) Kanye West – Heartless

011.) Akon – Right Now (Na Na)

The 10 BEST songs of 2008

010.) Chris Brown – Forever

009.) Scars on Broadway – World Long Gone

008.) Slipknot – Psychosocial

007.) Coldplay – Violet Hill

006.) The Offspring – Hammerhead

005.) Rise Against – Audience of One

004.) Akon – Beautiful

003.) Linkin Park – Hands Held High

002.) Coldplay – Viva La Vida

001.) Ne-Yo – Closer

They say it’s all about to end

I remember back towards the end of 2005, I was near the glendale galleria and i noticed that they were starting construction. It was barely the beginning of it all. There used to be a rite aid, a big 5 sporting goods, a super market, and a few small stores. Now they were gone, torn down, left for nothing.

The innitial building process consisted of just dirt…dust…and nothing to remind us of what used to be. A few months went by and they build a boundary, some kind of wall. Something that covered exactly what they would be working on. And on the wall said “The Americana on Brand.” Opening MAY 2008.

MAY!!!!!!!!! what the effff! Apparently back in 2005/2006, may 2008 sounded far away. Amazing how time flies doesn’t it?

I thought back then…..why not. Everytime i stopped by the galleria i tried to remember to take a picture of a masterpiece in progress. Everytime i got tacos with co-workers i tried to remember, everytime i went to circuit city i tried to remember, everytime i drove on brand…i tried to remember.

In 2007, the american started to show. Seriously, this place is gonna be HUGE!

 

Then some day in september 2007, i was driving home from my physical therapy session and i drove by the americana. At this time i kinda forgot about the whole taking pictures thing to mark its progress…and to my surprise, i missed out on alot!

 

a few months later…..

 

 

And here it is….May 2008. Who would have known that those 2 and half years would have flew by sooo fast. Who would have known that the city of glendale could change a super market, a big 5 and a few small stores into this…..

Thursday May 1, 2008. Fireworks show at night
Friday May 2, 2008. Official cutting of the ribbon and the grand opening of the AMERICANA AT BRAND

 

how time flies from 2006-2008

(The two images above, were taken from the same spot more or less)

Currently playing: Starfield – Everything Is Beautiful

 

sad enough to say that even without a match i can still burn this place

Let’s talk about another band. HASTE THE DAY rounds up my fourth band this year. What makes them great? Hardcore screaming…melodic singing….and a hidden Christian message about Christ. What more can i ask for in the music i love listening too.

song to listen to: Stiches

Week 4: Haste the Day
Week 3: Four Year Strong
Week 2: We The Kings
Week 1: Alesana

Random thought of the day: Once i eat one cheez-it, i have to eat it all. Same goes for Ritz crakers. I could eat one…and finish the bag within minutes. What does this mean??? Nabisco should make Cheese flavored Ritz…OOOOOOO

i can ride my bike with no handlebars

School is stressing me out! Here’s the game plan, i have 3 weeks of class, 1 week of finals, then 6 weeks of summer school. And if all goes well….I’ll be DONE with school! Sounds easy doesn’t it? i keep repeating the timeline in my head and it sounds soooo easy. In these last 3 weeks of class, i have 2 term papers, 2 oral presentations, then my finals week. I wonder why i’m SOOOO stressed

I went to the youth retreat last weekend. The campsite was close enough that they didn’t require a bus to take the youth. They just had their parents drive them. So i decided to drive up myself because i went to help out with worship all day saturday. (by the way, it was SOOO much fun playing and worshiping God, i feel like i get more out of it when i’m playing something and singing. I was truly touched by what God was doing). Anyways, it was probably the first time i’ve driven to a retreat site on my own, not knowing where it was. The site was off the 2 highway….WAY UP! I was driving up and up and up for at least 45 minutes through winding roads up the mountains looking over at the sites before finding the campsite. Anyways, my point is, as i was driving i was thinking to myself…wow this is so calm and relaxing. Why don’t i ever drive up this road on my free time, pull over to the side and just admire nature and all that God has put in the world. I feel like with all the stress that school is giving me, it would be nice to just take time off, away from the busy city and drive up angeles crest highway once again. I wonder how nice it would be to just pull to the side, maybe bring my guitar and play something. Maybe bring a book (i DO have books i read) and just read. How nice would it be to just leave the city for a few hours, let go of everything in my world, school, work, stress, duties, and just sit there…on a rock or something.

this is something i would hopefully like to do

my head is spinning

and i have allergies =/

in the cold you look so fierce

Morning market run with melanie: $22.87
Drive from home to CSUN: 25 miles at $3.65 a gallon: approx. $4.56
Drive from CSUN to CSULB: 53 miles at $3.65 a gallon: approx. $9.67
Dinner for two at all you can eat Korean BBQ: $21.63
An afternoon with the best girlfriend ever and an evening watching her dance: PRICELESS

There are somethings money can’t buy…for everything else, there’s MasterCard

011908

you’re all i need

One year ago today…April 9, 2007 I decided to play in a basketball tournament hosted by in n out. It was kind of like a march madness bracket, 80 or so in n out stores competeting to advance to the next round. The first day of competeition consisted of at least 2 games (it was a 2 game elimination). You lose 2 games and you’re out…you win 2 games and you advance to the next day. My store won our first game, lost our second, and won our third to advance to the next day. However…sometime during the end of my second game i started feeling pain in my back. I kept playing though and finished the third game. As i was driving home the pain got worse and i felt like i couldn’t walk. I came home and stayed in bed the entire day hoping that my back would feel better so i could continue playing the next day.

When the next day came, i called one of my co-workers and told them i couldn’t play because my back was still hurting. They ended up getting eliminated from the tournament that day (I’d like to think it’s cause my presence wasn’t there…hahahaha). I had a test this day and i asked melanie to drive me to school and wait for me because i didn’t think i could drive. She was nice enough to do so and i went limping to school to take my test.

Melanie and my mom thought it would be a serious problem and thought i should go see a doctor. Two days later i decided to see a doctor. His diagnosis…bruised muscle. Healing time, 2-6 weeks. I thought i’d be healed in a few days so just the thought of 2 weeks made me sad. Now i wish it was ONLY 6 weeks.

Long story short…it wasn’t a bruised muscle. It was almost a herniated disc…very close to one. Where the disc was coming out but not all the way. But it was still rubbing agaisnt my nerve, which was why i couldn’t walk properly or lie straight on my back. There would be nights where i would try for 6-7 hours of sleep, and literally only get 45 minutes of sleep. It was the most excruciating pain i have ever experienced. Days would pass where i would try to lie straight on my back and couldn’t, and i would just cry out wishing i could lie straight.

It took a total of 3 and a half months for me to finally say i was feeling alot better. I was able to walk normally, and lie straight on my back. I still remember the day, i was in my living room and i decided to give it a try. When i finally lied straight…the biggest smile came to my face =).

I ended up having 12 or so sessions of physical therapy with dr. lorraine thompson, which i think helped me understand more of what i was going through.

I thank everyone for their constant prayers and support. Chi gave me a walker, Tim gave me crutches and i found a cane. Echo’s dad gave me a real diagnosis, Stephanie loo gave me a free physical therapy consultation and friends gave me rides when i knew i couldn’t drive.

I don’t think i meant for this post to be as long as it is. I think i just wanted to remember this day. April 9, 2007…i really hurt my back. One year later and i’m feeling GREAT!

currently playing: PAC modern stuff =)

BADA BING! with a pipe

i need to find things to do at night to keep me occupied. If i don’t have anything to do at night…i sleep =/

it could be a good thing that i’m catching up sleep….but when i wake up in the morning (after sleeping at 10 the previous night) and the first thing my sister says to me is “good morning Mr. i slept for 10 hours last night,” i feel like, awww i really did sleep for 10 hours.

i’ve been lagging with this band thing (if you dont know what i’m talking about, look at my last 5 or 6 entries). So it’s not really a ‘band of the week anymore.’ It’s more like band at the moment…however i’m still going to call it band of the week =)

Band of the week: Four Year Strong
Songs to listen to: Heroes get remembered, Legends never die. AND catastrophe
-these guys sound like a mix of June, Taking Back Sunday and EXCELLENCE!

Week 3: Four Year Strong
Week 2: We The Kings
Week 1: Alesana

Disneyland among many other things brings a smile to my face =) I dont know how i ever survived without a pass for 21 years.

currently playing: All Time Low – Holly (would you turn me on?)

011908
(she too makes me smile)

somehow my mind has lost direction

Easter is Sunday March 23, 2008

As you many know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring equinox (which is March 20)

The dating of Easter is based on the the lunar calender that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around our Roman calendar.

This is the earliest Easter any of us WILL EVER SEE the rest of our lives. And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old and above)

The next time Easter will be this early (march 23) will be the year 2228 (230 years from now). The last time it was early was 1913 (95 years ago). So if you’re 95, you’re the only one who was around to see that.

So enjoy the uniqueness of this special day and this little piece of history.

the sun will set for you

5 years in the making.

I went to a Linkin Park concert tuesday night at the staples center. The last time i saw Linkin Park live was feb 2003. The bands that opened for LP back then were Story of the Year, Hoobastank and P.O.D. This time around there was a different lineup, a lineup i was more excited to see.

2 bands that are easily on my top favorite 20 bands opened for linkin park on tuesday. Chiodos as well as Coheed and Cambria.

The crowd was mostly there for LP, so honestly i think i was the ONLY chiodos fan around my area. I was singing/humming to every song and bobbing my head like no other. I love the vocalist of chiodos because he sings so high melodic tunes, at the same time scream like there’s no tomorrow. Chiodos playlist last night was (not in order):
-Is It Progression If A Cannibal Uses a Fork?
-The Undertaker’s Thirst for Revenge is Unquenchable
-If I Cut My Hair, Hawaii Will Sink (this song got me SOOO pumped)
-Lexington
-Teeth the Size of Piano Keys
-The Words “Best Friend” Becomes Redefined (currently my favorite song out there)
-One Day Women Will All Become Monsters

The second band was Coheed and Cambria. All i gotta say is Claudio Sanchez is a WICKED guitar player. For someone who can’t see (his hair is Ridiculous) and for a lead singer he’s gotta be one of the better guitar players (while singing) that i’ve seen and heard. There was a bigger audience for coheed because they’re a bigger band than chiodos. This is the second time i’ve seen Coheed live and i wanna see them again. I would love to go to a coheed and cambria show where they’re the headliners so that i could be around other coheed fanatics =). Their set list was as followed (not in order)
-No World for Tomorrow
-A Favor House Atlantic
-Gravemakers & Gunslingersa
-Blood Red Summer
-The Running Free
-Feathers
-In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3
-The Hound (Of Blood and Rank)
-Welcome Home (they closed with this song, and both guitarist exchanged solos….it was beautiful, brought a tear to my eye)

Then came Linkin Park!!!
They came from the bottom of the stage up…it was sweet =) They played a wonderful set with a good mix of slow songs and songs that had my voice screaming. After hearing them live once again, i realized why they were my favorite band all throughout high school. I had probably 80% of their lyrics memorized and i had an excellent time. They did something i’ve never seen before in all my concert experiences. They had TWO encores! They finished one set, left while the crowd called for ‘one more song.’ They came out played two songs and made it seem like they were done. They left and the crowd was going nuts again…and what happened next, LP came out once again and played TWO MORE songs! Wonderful…speechless. Here’s their set (not in order):
-Papercut
-Forward
-Don’t Stay
-Crawling
-Somewhere I Belong
-Wake
-Lying From You
-What I’ve Done
-Bleed It Out
-In The End
-Valentines Day
-In Pieces
-The Little Things Give You Away
-Shadow Of The Day
-Leave Out The Rest
-Numb
FIRST ENCORE
-In Between
-Breaking the Habit
SECOND ENCORE
-One Step Closer
-Faint

(photos of bands are from other concerts i’ve seen them in. They didn’t allow camera’s in the staple center so i wasn’t able to get pictures from tuesdays concert)

Although other bands like Emery, Anberlin, Atreyu, Funeral for a Friend have found a way to my top favorite bands, Linkin Park has once again shown me why they are still there despite their 4 year hiatus. After seeing them live once again i remembered why they were my favorite band during my 4 years of high school.

RANDOM LINKIN PARK STORIES:
-in 2003 i waited 5 hours in line to meet them and have my CD signed by them. I also got a few pictures with them…kinda.
-a couple of years ago i went to the Virgin Mega Store on Sunset. I was with Jose and while we were walking around the store Jose says to me “look it’s Mr. Hahn” (the DJ of Linkin Park). I saw the back of his head and outloud i said “That’s not MR HAHN!” Well what do you know, he turns around and it’s Mr. Hahn. He gives me the dirtiest look cause i guess he heard me. He seriously stared me down. HAHAHAHA. One one hand i could have gotten his autograph or something, but me and my big mouth got me nothing. I still look back at it and laugh though.

Currently Playing: Linkin Park – No More Sorrow

011908
She completes me =)

burning down neverland

Let me go on a little rant about the NBA and the LA lakers

I’ve been a basketball fan for as long as i could remember, and i think i’ve been a laker fan since 94. So OF COURSE i want the lakers to win the championship this year. Especially with the great team they have this year (kobe, lamar, gasol [paucho] bynum etc).

There are some GREAT players out there who i think deserve a ring: Jason Kidd is finally on another championship contender team in the dallas mavericks. Kidd’s been in the NBA since 94 and definately deserves a ring. Not to mention dallas needs to redeem themselves from their 06-07 debacle. The nuggets have a great all around team (an allstar starting lineup actually), and players like allen iverson and marcus camby have played too hard in this league to not win a championship. Steve Nash is probably the best point guard out there, and has been in the league since for quite awhile now, however i’m not a fan of the Suns OR Shaq so in order for me to wish Nash a ring, he needs to switch teams =). As for the Boston Celtics, the BIG 3 definately each deserve rings. Pierce has been the face of boston and yet has led them no where, Kevin Garnett is one of the best all around players and has been in the league since 95, he deserves a ring and Ray Allen is one of the best 3-point shooters, and he too deserves a ring.

HOWEVER, my vote still goes to my Lakers. Some might say that the lakers shouldn’t win because they won 3 in a row (2000-02). However, looking back on the lakers those three years, i’ve realized that only 2 (that’s right…TWO) lakers are currently on this years lineup. Kobe and Derek Fisher are the only lakers who hold rings. So having that said, let’s give the other 11 lakers a championship ring =)
Gasol – the reason
Bynum – the youngin
Odom – we traded odom for shaq back in 2003…no complaint there =)
Farmar – the jew
Turiaff – the energy
Vujacic – VUJACIC!!!!
Walton
Mbenga – i love the last name
Karl
Ariza – actually glad we lost evans and cook for him
Radmonivic
Mihm

GO  LAKERS!!!!!