If someone painted a picture of this place, it would look like this.  I imagine the tumbleweed isn't that fast but you get the picture.  There, happy?  It says hello!

We have relocated.

It has been a long while since I updated this place, but now that I get to do an assignment out of it for my writing class, getting credit at the same time, it's not so bad anymore.  So much has happened since I last wrote in here, some stuff that I can't even discuss but experienced nonetheless.  After all is said and done, I feel like I racked on some holiday weight while my wallet appears to be bulimic lately.  So having said that, this entry may seem very boring in comparison to the previous ones this past break.

Well on New Years Eve, I once again had a buffet trip and surprise surprise, I was not the one responsible for calling it to order.  The food was pretty good and the company was also up to par.  We played some mindless games learning about some of the things we have decided to change about ourselves for 2004.  Mine was ultimately... talk less, listen more and I haven't really gotten a chance to do that when few people talk to me to being with.  Anyways, after dropping Eli at his house (no I was not driving, had you fooled for a second huh?), we passed by my house and I noticed that  a car had collided into a car that collided into another car.  These were my exact words: boy they sure have bad luck on this day... as I got out of the car, I noticed that the third car in the chain reaction was indeed my dad's which translates to my future car.  Nuts I say!  So the damage of the car is estimated in the 500-600s but luckily no one was injured in the collision.  That night was perhaps the most uneventful New Years of my life.  Somehow I feel trapped in a time warp, and I am trying to get out it constantly.

A couple of days later, I went to HTB AGAIN, I know! with my family, and once again, after arriving home, another car accident happened as I was walking through the door.  It's pretty evident that place is cursed now, and if you drive by my house, all the cars that once parked there are now gone.  Smart move in my opinion.  I have also made a personal request to get dropped off at the safe corner to avoid getting hit while I am exiting the car.  That could get really ugly.  I can imagine the headline: "Buffet Boy Ran Over Leaving a Car."  So tragic.

Since then, my days have been filled with random excursions with random people.  All the while, I keep finding myself at home at the end of the night not feeling fulfilled.  Perhaps there is something bigger our there for me to accomplish because whatever it is I am doing now, it's not working.  Maybe school will rejuvenate my experience ::FAST FORWARD TO JANUARY 9::

School, it just seems more diminished from the first quarter.  I guess all that excitement being a newbie has worn off already.  But yea, most of my classes are "okay" so far.

Okay, so this is like my third buffet trip since break and this was really the worse!  I didn't feel like eating, me and crs stayed there for a good 55 minutes and on top of that... the family adjacent to our table kept unloading their dirty dishes on our table while we got our food.  How messed up is that?  It's one thing to do that when a "party" leaves but if they are still there, it's completely rude.  That is some messed up stuff right there and got my pissed for a good 5 minutes.  Blah!  In addition, I found it funny that some people could start recognizing us as we go there so frequently, perhaps a buffet break has been due for a long while.

I swear that the "earlier" parts of this entry would be more exciting if I could just write everything, but I am censoring my own stuff, so you guys will just have to deal.

Christmas was very bittersweet for me.  I have mastered the fake smile this year and I hope next year I won't have to use it so much.  I did have a genuine good time going to the Crystal Cathedral with Andrea S. on Christmas Eve.  That place is nice and we even got a cool flashlight thing.  Standing next to the comfort of a friend can warm you like no other (this is a metaphor if you didn't notice, it was raining outside and all we had was this hideous umbrella that me and Andrea did not want to stand under.  Heck, we pushed ourselves under other's umbrellas). The gifts I gave were generally well received.  The sweater I got my Dad didn't fit so he insisted on me to take it.  My brother and sister put their George Foreman Grill and Foot Spa in the closet.  My other sister asked if she could give away one of her gifts.  My mom's toaster is still in its wrapper.  Brandon's DVD is still in its plastic casing.  Maybe I should reevaluate what happened this year to make sure I do a better job next time.  I guess it's just me noticing all of this as usual.  I don't expect them to hook themselves to the gifts, but a sign of appreciation would be nice.  I got lots of money and a backpack.  Click here and here for additional pictures.

After Christmas dinner (at noon), I headed to my aunt's house and just chilled there for awhile.  We played blackjack and 5 bucks I started with eventually turned into 27 (I would lose it two days later playing Bingo...).  Anyone not gambling was probably playing with Hannah (my second cousin, like my cousin's daughter).  My cousin, show with Brandon, also announced they are expecting another baby in another 8 months.  More babies, yay!  In any case, after that I went home and sat around until I decided to head over to Inho's house.  Him and Isidro were playing scattergories and you can guess who won that game, correction, who owned them at it.  Then we introduced Isidro to the world of Munchkin, he did well first time around.

On the 26th, it was Vi's birthday so we went to play Bingo (just as a clarification, I couldn't invite anyone cause I couldn't assure rides or what not, so if you heard any other stories, please don't point the finger at me).  We got there and the newbies Amy, Isidro and Vi saw how brutal these older people can be.  Then, supposedly after I ate a french fry very seductively, is that even possible? this 40+ year old man gave me a long stare... one of those dirty i want you in a nasty way kind of stares.  I can say that I was NOT the only one who saw it but Vi and Amy are my witnesses.  So as you can tell, we did not win anything but just to not leave as complete losers, we went to eat at Norms and talked some more.  Chris here started blaming everyone for eating his cherry in his milkshake, he even blamed Amy was was sitting across from the table who couldn't even reach halfway to the table.  Turns out the guy didn't notice his cherry was sunken to the bottom of his cup.  Hell, the waitress told him like it was... "I brought you some cherries so you would stop crying."  We just cracked up so loud that all 10 people in there could hear us.

Yesterday after filling myself up with some Korean BBQ, I connected with Van and Chau at Chau's house.  They taught me how to be "good" at Minesweeper while we sat around for a little while.  Then we popped in the video that Van brought and it turned out to be good.  It's like Real World but with a storyline and these people are from all over the place.  It's about a guy trying to find out his own identity so many of us could relate to the movie.  I suck at chess now, Chau wopped my ass both times we played.  Makes me think my mind is decaying slowly.  After Van left, Chris came over and we started talking about "life."  That was an extended conversation that lasted a good 3 and a half hours but we still found out lots of things to talk about.  The next time you read this, you should see a list of things I need to do for 2004.  It's up to anyone's guess what I will accomplish.  Happy New Year all!