Wednesday, November 26, 2003

I know I haven't been writing here for awhile, life has been too turbulent to even attempt post, but I will endeavor to bring those of you who might be interested up to date in the next few days.

In the mean time I am in Houston visiting my father who just had surgery, I hate seeing someone I care about in pain and I regret that I wasn't able to get here sooner.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I want to wish you all and I do mean all of you, a Happy Holiday.
I just want to say that I'm thankful for all the friends and family that are in my life and even those who are no longer a part of my life I want to say thank you for the time that we have shared together, those times still shine brightest for me in my memory and I regret the loss that has come between us.

more to come, enjoy or not.

Friday, November 14, 2003

pho
You are Form 0, Phoenix: The Eternal.

"And The Phoenix's cycle had reached
zenith, so he consumed himself in fire. He
emerged from his own ashes, to be forever
immortal."


Some examples of the Phoenix Form are Quetzalcoatl
(Aztec), Shiva (Indian), and Ra-Atum
(Egyptian).
The Phoenix is associated with the concept of life,
the number 0, and the element of fire.
His sign is the eclipsed sun.

As a member of Form 0, you are a determined
individual. You tend to keep your sense of
optomism, even through tough times and have a
positive outlook on most situations. You have
a way of looking at going through life as a
journey that you can constantly learn from.
Phoenixes are the best friends to have because
they cheer people up easily.


Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Thursday, November 13, 2003

I AM HUGH...
Sometimes
I feel too deeply.
I fall in love too quickly.
I cry too easily.
I laugh too loud.
Sometimes
I need too desperately.
I hold on to sorrows that need to be forgotten.
I walk too slowly. I drive too quickly. I forget to call old friends.
I forget to brush my hair. Sometimes.
Sometimes
I can't remember how to breathe
and I can't bear to leave my house
for fear of failing.
Sometimes
I scream and I hurt the ones I love the most.
Sometimes
I am too weak
too WEAK
to control my urges, my angers, my passions, my tears.
I get afraid,
sometimes,
of waking up alone.
Of living the rest of my life
alone.
Of going to bed
alone.
Of dying
alone.
Sometimes
I just sit and watch the rain fall
forever.
And my breath falls upon the ground
like dried leaves
and for a moment I forget
that
I am afraid.
So I've jumped from Friendster to My Space which I'm glad I did, you can find me on either as imortalrooster@collegeclub.com

My space has more features and it just plain works, whereas Friendster is slow and featureless.

What's been going on in my life you ask? well simple enough really. Daily I wake up and I'm already at work, then I might study a bit. Go to classes at night while planning for the next semester, in the afternoons I hang with friends, weekends are usually involving some type of outdoor activity or a show. I was scheduled to participate in a tournament this weekend, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do so with my hand the way it is.

My hand is an inconvenience, but I'm dealing with it, I'll take the stitches out myself in a few days. There's no sense in spending a ton more money on a hospital visit for something I can do myself.

This life is too fast

Here is a quote below from my current stage of re-reading Proust. Seems to sum up a lot about reading literature and the art of fiction. Also the internet, sadly, has speeded everything up. We need to slow everything down again. Or does it mean the opposite? Im not sure. Whatever the case, it means something we should spend time in pondering.

Next to this central belief which, while I was reading, would be constantly reaching out from my inner self to the outer world, towards the discovery of truth, came the emotions aroused in me by the action in which I was taking part, for these afternoons were crammed with more dramatic events than occur, often, in a whole lifetime. These were the events taking place in the book I was reading. It is true that the people concerned in them were not what Francoise would have called real people. But none of the feelings which the joys or misfortunes of a real person arouse in us can be awakened except through a mental picture of those joys or misfortunes; and the ingenuity of the first novelist lay in the understanding that, as the image was the one essential element in the complicated structure of our emotions, so that simplification of it which consisted in the suppression, pure and simple, of real people would be decided an improvement. A real person, profoundly as we may sympathize with him, is in a great measure perceptible only through our senses, that is to say, remains opaque, presents a dead weight which our sensibilities have not the strength the lift. If some misfortune comes to him, it is only in one small section of the complete idea we have of him that we are capable of feeling any emotion; indeed it is only in one small section of the complete idea he has of himself that he is capable of feeling any emotion either. The novelists happy discovery was to think of substituting for those opaque sections, impenetrable to the human soul, their equivalent in immaterial sections, things, that is, which ones soul can assimilate. After which it matters not that the actions, the feelings of this new order of creatures appear to us in the guise of truth, since we have made them our own, since it is in ourselves that they are happening, that they are holding their thrall, as we feverishly turn over the pages of the book, our quickened breath and staring eyes. And once the novelist has brought us to this state, in which, as in all purely mental states, every emotion is multiplied ten-fold, into which his book comes to disturb us as might a dream, but a dream more lucid and more abiding than those which come to us in sleep, why then, for the space of an hour he sets free within us all the joys and sorrows in the world, a few of which only we should have to spend years of our actual life in getting to know, and the most intense of which would never be revealed to us because the slow course of their development prevents us from perceiving them. It is the same in life, the heart changes, and it is our worst sorrow; but we know it only through reading, through our imagination: in reality its alteration, like that of certain natural phenomena, is so gradual that, even if we are able to distinguish, successively, each of its different states, we are still spared the actual sensation of change.

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

It's Tuesday morning, early and I'm awake as I am most often these days, I can't seem to sleep at night I have so much on my mind it keeps me awake as I toss and turn, having a hand sensitive to pain doesn't help much either.

Today is Veteran's Day, I know some of us would appreciate a 'Thank you' or whatever, but I've never really thought of myself as having earned the right to call myself a veteran. Yes, I have been in situations and have served my country to the best of my abilities even through irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities, but I don't consider what I've done to be equal to what others have given. The military hasn't always been a voluntary organization, it is only recently such. So those who came before, some went unwillingly, leaving behind friends and families to go somewhere to fight and maybe die or to return from a conflict they didn't wholly understand. It's the same and not the same for everyone who participates in such endeavors and they are changed because of it. Freedom isn't Free seems to be a popular slogan these days and while this is true, people generally think of the fiscal cost of it all and not the human or the emotional side. I joined the Army in January of 1996, I didn't have any high ideals about Duty, Honor or Freedom, not to say that I didn't have these ideals, they just weren't a foundation for my deciding to join. I needed help to go to college, my parents didn't prepare well, but that's okay, sometimes it's better if you have to make your own way. I thought long and hard about the branch of service that I wanted to join and I finally decided on the Army due to familial reasons, my grandfather, whom I am named after also served in the Army, he was part of the D-day invasion and he didn't make it through. My other Grandfather was at Pearl Harbor on the Arizona, luckily a buddy of his made one last check and pulled him out to safety. I have cousins who have served in both Korea and Vietnam, others in more recent conflicts and when I think of Veterans I think of these men and women, Some gave a little and some gave all. I still wonder what my contribution will be and will it be able to even begin to equal the service of others? So if you can, Thank a Veteran today, you'll see them proudly wearing their flags and pins, They know what it means to serve, they understand things like the meaning of the pledge of allegiance, why we have a nation and why we must protect it. You might think I'm an advocate of War or conflict, but I'm not. I think it's one of the worst things Humanity has ever created, but sometimes it's necessary.

This weekend I went to Houston, Duty called and I went to serve regardless of my hand and how it felt I went. While in Houston some things occurred, Life happens my friends and sometimes it's not always for the good or the bad, it just simply happens. I ran into someone I wanted to talk to, but apparantly they didn't want to talk to me, so I made a singular attempt and though I was denied once, I care for this person enough to not harrass them and to respect their privacy. I regret the events that led up to it, I wish I could change things, but they are what they are and I didn't try to hide them, I was open and honest, maybe too honest, sometimes I regret my decision to tell them about what happened, but I know it was the right thing to do because not to do so would have torn me up inside and it would be living a lie and having a relationship tied together by a lie and that I will not do. I know how fragile relationships can be, In the past I have been in situations where others have either lied to me, withheld information or even worse and I will not have a relationship like that. So I will be open and honest about what goes on in my life and if I screw up, then I will freely admit to my wrongdoings, not to hurt the other person, but because they deserve to know.

I posted about them here a while back, Yes I probably sugar coated them and at times, most times I sound a bit melodramatic, but that's the way I write. The reason for sugarcoating or being vague or whatever is not only to respect the privacy of the persons involved ( You'll notice I rarely post names of anyone I'm in a relationship/conflict with ). This is my personal blog, not a public forum, I post here for my own sake and if it is read and liked/hated that's all well and good. I appreciate the comments, that are made and the emails that I receive and I respect the opinions of others.

Some of you may like it, some of you may hate it and others could care less about it, This is my blog, there are many like it and many not like it, but this one is mine, you will learn to either love it like your own or not, but remember this one is mine. Thank you for reading it.

Thursday, November 06, 2003

It's Thursday, late at night, actually more like early Friday morning and later this afternoon I think I'll be heading to Houston, I have to my duty calls to me. Sometimes my choice to join the military vexes me, it's terribly hard to maintain any kind of relationship with this kind of stress in my life, Though to be honest I can't blame it entirely on the military, my choice to serve was exactly that, my choice. It's just that I've lost so much to it even while gaining so much, sometimes it just sucks.

I haven't been happy for awhile now, there is someone who was in my life that meant a whole lot to me, more than she knew and I messed it up, sometimes I hold back, hell I know I hold back my emotions for fear of driving people away. I want so much to just let go and let everything flow. I remember in my youth that I used to be so open, so full of laughter and so free with my smiles. what happened to that little boy? He was so full of life and energy. Why am I the man I am now? What has occurred to make me so?

It is best not to dwell on these things. I've been saddened enough already by thoughts, the days here have turned cold, the nights get dark earlier, the city is full of the frigid chill, Winter is coming my friends, the cold winds herald it's coming with howls seeping into cracks, through crevaces and the pores of jackets and winter coats set to ward off the winter chill.

My hand still hurts like crazy. it still bleeds a little and it is all bruised. typing here is very difficult and filled with pain. Though I have to deal with it, I have to work through it. I have it tightly wrapped which is good, because it's like wearing a glove and that helps with the cold. I've dealt with worse, the cold reminds me if I forget, the chill seeps into my bones and they ache with each new day.

It's these cold nights that remind me more so of how I'm so alone, not forfriends I'll never be lonely for having so many friends, which I am so thankful for, but I am lonely for a significant other, you know a one and only, I thought I had found her, only to lose her so quickly and without being able to do anything about it. I long for someone to hold close in the night, to laugh with, to share my thoughts with, to hold closer than close. There is something pure and sweet in sharing your everything with someone you care deeply about and that returns that caring freely.

I will be in Houston this weekend, hopefully I will get to see my friends in my free time, but I don't know if that will be possible. If I will have any free time, between working for Uncle Sam aka the U.S. Army and my family, I hope I will have time to see my friends.

a story I developed about my hand, that's not true and that I've not told anyone other than my good friend Kyle, but I told him about the glass right afterwards:

Did you hear that I got stabbed in the hand? yeah it's true, I was walking home from school the other night and I heard this scream so yours truly went into action. rushed to this darkened alleyway and there was this girl being attacked by this homeless drag rat nasty, I grabbed him and threw him against the wall. he must have been high cause he came flying back at me screaming, I pushed the girl back but she grabbed my arm. I only had one free hand, that's when I noticed the knife in the dude's hand and I blocked with my free hand, shoved the girl harder away and brought my free arm around and nailed him right in the throat. brought my knee up into his groin, then dropped him hard, kicking him in the head a couple of times. he wasn't moving too well after that, the girl was screaming though then I noticed my hand was bleeding like crazy. What about the girl you ask, she was fine, her clothes were torn a bit, I think she might have had a few cuts and bruises, I tore a hunk off my shirt wadded it up and wrapped my hand in it to help prevent further bleeding, we called the cops and waited for them to come, then I went to the emergency room. I've got a two inch cut, with 8 stitches in it. It was a pretty nasty stab, just barely missed my flexor tendons and the nerves, I was lucky, though we'll see how lucky I am when I get the bill.

but honestly if you'll read the post below you'll find out that I was removing glass from a picture frame and the frame broke sending broken glass into my hand I did have to go to the emergency room though. Well it's getting late and I've got things to do later tomorrow err today, so I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to seeing/hearing from you soon. Have a great one all!!

Tuesday, November 04, 2003

hey :) Sorry I haven't written here in awhile, once Monday hit things went a bit crazy around here, I've got projects due tonight and I needed to hit them hard.

Speaking of hitting things hard, in my zeal (sp?) to get things done I broke some glass in a picture frame, luckily or rather unluckily I was able to catch the pieces before they shattered all over the floor, the unlucky part is that I cut my right hand pretty bad and had to go to the emergency room, which is where I was all night last night and a good part of this morning. Now my hand looks like a giant cotton ball, but they say I'm lucky because I just missed all the tendons and nerves. so there is a silver lining to this whole incident, I'm now waiting for the bill to come, they told me it was going to be something like $700 and I was like what??!? I seriously don't have that kind of cash just lying around, so I'll see what I can do about getting some help, but I don't know I haven't even gotten the bill yet..

How was everyone’s Halloween? What did you do? I simply had a great time with friends, went down to sixth street and got a little crazy, my friend Nicki had a great time as well, she got to hug a giant inflatable penis, don’t worry I took pictures while yelling the line from Jay and Silent Bob Strike back, “ She Love’s the cock!!” it was crazy and a lot of fun, I haven't been this happy in awhile. Austin is so dark to me these days, I sometimes question why I moved back here and not somewhere else, what would have been different if things had gone another way? I ponder these things in the long hours of the day.

Last Saturday night was a little crazy too, I went to a Frat after Halloween party that some friends of mine were throwing, I felt so old there, but I did my thing and mingled and talked up a storm, the bands sucked, but people had fun and I'm glad to say that at the end of the night I went home alone, not for lack of offers, but because that's not what I'm looking for. Anyway..

Work for me has picked up tremendously I have apartments to rent, then the Army this coming weekend in Houston and on top of that I have these projects due in two hours with only one hand, please excuse my abrupt ending to this, please feel free to call me if y'all need anything. Have a great one!