Wait...what's that? You want MORE? Fine...here you go: EVEN MORE PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS FROM RECENT EPIC EVENT!!!

Start from the beginning and read the descriptions if you want this in story form.


Oh...and if you didn't know...I totally remind you of that guy from Rent.

The Epic Extravaganza of Jordan, Kevin, and Grant

(This post must be read while singing "When You're the Best of Friends" from The Fox and the Hound in your head...here, I'll help you start off...)

When you're the best of friends
Sharing all that you discover
When that moment has past, will that friendship last?
Who can say? There's a way!
Oh I hope... I hope it never ends
'Cause you're the best of friends


This journey starts out on the road to San Jose. We drove Chad's 68' Bronco with no heat, no radio, stiff shocks, loud engine, squeaky everything and no back window through the desert at night. I ended up wearing 2 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, a sweatshirt, and a beanie. I was still freezing:



NOTE: Here's me at the start of the trip looking very suspicious. Chad looks like he's about to vomit. And the second picture is me at the end of the trip...9 1/2 hours later.


The next night I met up with Jordan, bought lottery tickets with her, and promptly lost:



NOTE: I'm not sure why I'm yelling in the first picture, I think Jordan is trying to lick the lotto tickets in the second, and note how sad we look in the third...so sad.


After, I proposed to one of Jordan’s friends over the phone through a picture message of me holding a yellow legal pad with “Will you marry me?” scrawled on it in sharpie. She totally turned me down.

We then spent like half an hour trying to have Jordan throw a Reese’s Pieces into my mouth while I supposedly would be taking a picture of said event:



NOTE: Note the extreme lack of candy flying through the air. I'm obviously bad at multi-tasking.


Jordan and I then spent the next 15 minutes taking pictures of the inside of our mouths:



NOTE: I have NO clue why this happened.


Then Jordan tried to lick my face...of course:



NOTE: I actually didn't even know she was doing this when I took the picture.


I then found a paddle in my kitchen and promptly put it to good use:



NOTE: This used to be for spankings when we Paige kids were bad.


We had to get McFlurries, but for some reason they don't serve Butterfinger any longer. I came up with the idea of getting just the yogurt and then making our own. So we overpaid for plain frozen yogurt, crushed some Butterfingers, and created masterpieces of delicious ice-cream-ness:



NOTE: It seriously looks like I'm throwing up into the cup. And Jordan's picture isn't that much prettier.


The next night we picked up Kevin in order to hit our old favorite, Comedy Sportz:



NOTE: Apparently we all just like yelling. Also note Jordan's hat on her, then me, and for the rest of the night...on Kevin. I look 5 in that hat.


We hit some dark hallways, some dark staircases, and then Jordan started doing stretches in downtown SJ. Or she was tying her shoe:



NOTE: We wound through like 50 yards of creepy dark hallways like that just to get out of the parking structure. Apparently downtown SJ wants to give all the kidnappers and killers plenty of places to hide.


We got to the building where CSz was supposed to be and had to brush up on our drug deal etiquette as we had to push buttons and talk to disembodied voices just to be told to come back later. So we hit Urban Outfitters:



NOTE: Jordan looks freaked out about pressing that button. We're doing our emo glamour shots in the second picture. And in the third? Don't ask.


So to pass the time after Urban we found a bar called the Blue Monkey, which we lovingly called The BM. We found a nice seat and got Jordan drunk on one shot:



NOTE: Such a lightweight.
NOTE 2: Ok ok, she was faking it.

After CSz, which was amazing, we decided to try and find a cool place to hang out. We got lost and called a friend or two to ask if they knew where we were:



NOTE: Kevin looks kinda like a heroin addict in that second picture.


After turning down 3 different places due to $15 cover charges, we went back to the trusted BM. We took some pictures, danced, and had a great time:



NOTE: In the third picture, if I remember correctly, I told Jordan, "OK, now do a sexy pose!" If that is my sexy look, I'm in serious trouble.


Apparently Jordan and Kevin conspired and got me a double shot of 151. If you don't know, that's around 75% alcohol:



NOTE: That third picture is literally 2 seconds after the second.


After some more dancing the lights came on and everyone scurried away like cockroaches in a lit room. We started the walk back but Kevin and I simply had to ride the boat. Later, I found a train that needed to be ridden as well:



NOTE: I seriously bruised myself climbing over the fence to get to that damned train.


Kevin then apparently gained an affinity for latching onto pole-like objects:



NOTE: This was right after we got lost again, and right before one of us urinated in public.


All in all, one of the most fun nights I have ever had. Seriously.



NOTE: I'll let this one speak for itself.


Are you still singing? You'd better be. If not I'm going to have to come over there and sing it for you while you re-read that whole overly-long thing...and you DON'T want that. I promise you.

Here's to many more good times with amazing friends.

This is going to sound stupid...

...maybe even over-indulgent, over-sympathetic, self-indulgent, and over-emotional, so don't read it if you don't like things that fit into any of those categories. Or if you don't like hyphenated words because apparently I'm on a roll.

I feel like I will never find the things I once thought I would find. Or, to be less vague, I feel like I will never find love like the love I once thought I would find. I have fallen into that rut of feeling pangs of pain at the sight of what is at least topically true love. So I sit here and wonder how low I will have to drop my standards or how low I will have to stoop or how much I will have to change my views of what love should be or how hard it would be to find someone who fits my current views.

All I want is all-consuming, life-changing, heart-pounding, intellectually stimulating, totally forgiving, unrelentless, never ending, soul sharing, blood-pumping, utterly intense, utterly passionate, utterly unmistakable, forever encouraging, Can't Possibly Live Without You, perpetually connected, Your Breath Is My Breath, never ever looking back, unconditional two-become-one kinda love.

I mean, come on, that's not too much to ask for, is it?

RIP

Rest in peace Toby.

You will be more missed than anyone could ever understand.

In 1492...

So…did anyone else here know that Columbus never thought the world was flat? Or that only the crazy fringe groups thought it was? Or that the whole argument was about the circumference of the world and that Columbus ended up being totally wrong despite his attempts to change the king and queen’s minds?

I’m so disenchanted with our educational system.

There Need to be More Hugs!

Next time I see you, screw the handshake, give me a hug.

Arachnophobia Anyone?

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
- HL Mencken

And now...a selection from Whitman:

Trippers and askers surround me,
People I meet, the effect upon me of my early life or the ward and city I live in, or the nation,
The latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authors old and new,
My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,
The sickness of one of my folks or of myself, or ill-doing or loss or lack of money, or depressions or exaltations,
Battles, the horrors of fratricidal war, the fever of doubtful news, the fitful events;
These come to me days and nights and go from me again,
But they are not the Me myself.
Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am,
Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary,
Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain rest,
Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next,
Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it.
Backward I see in my own days where I sweated through fog with linguists and contenders,
I have no mockings or arguments, I witness and wait.


I, of course, don't mean this in a non-dualistic sense of the eternal divinity being within me. I'm conforming it to my current situations. So there.

my tears taste salty

At the Coach House
(or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mistakes)

Date: October 30th, Devil's Night
Time: 6pm
Location: The Coach House

Ok ok...this is getting way too melodramatic...even for my taste. The other night Parachutes got a chance to play at The Coach House. We showed up, actually had people help us get our gear inside, actually had people respect us as a band about to perform at their venue, and actually got our own dressing room:



note: Asian decor, fake tree, and a sink the the corner...what more could we ask for?

Aro and Kyle were already there and helped us get all situated. Aaron even gave me a belated birthday present:



note: you can blame Aro for fueling my kleptomania...but seriously, awsome present

We grabbed a seat and watched Cameron Meshell, Mad Man Moon, The Red West, and The 88. I'm in love with The Red West by the way, so this was very cool for me...getting to play on the same stage as them. I even went over after and talked to them and sounded like a complete idiot. I thought that only happened on TV. I meant to say, "I first saw you guys open for Silverchair," but it came out as, "I first saw you guys open for...um....uh...." then panic filled my eyes until Kyle came through and said, "Silverchair." So sad.

We enjoyed the music, ate overpriced food, and Wendy and I glared at people:



note: Wendy pulls off the angry glare better than I do.

We finally got our turn on stage and had a very...er...interesting set. Despite the drum machine going off at an inopportune time, my strap falling off, and most of The 88's audience having already left, it was still fun:



note: I look like I'm trying to make the drum levitate.

And Apparently I started emitting rays of light at some point:



note: Rays of Light
note 2: I didn't mean to make a Madonna reference

And of course we have to thank our merch girls:



note: one's missing...we had a lady bug to go along with the lion tamer and the catholic schoolgirl. Apparently I don't have a picture of her...how sad.

We also have to thank everyone else who showed up to support us. This was a big show for us...getting to play with some amazing bands. It's great to have such a good group of friends:



note: if you are not in this photo (that Aro took by the way) it does not mean you are not a friend. It does mean you should have been at the show (or bold enough to step into the frenzy of us crazy people)

Later we ate In N' Out at 1am, me still wearing my tux jacket with tails. I have no pictures sadly. I was too focused on consuming a cheeseburger. We even made a new friend who accompanied us to said burger joint.

Overall an interesting learning experience and not a bad night. Not bad at all.