Good Morning, Good Morning

hey guys im back... sort of. now that im on winter break.... actually ive been on winter break, anyways, now that i have time on my hands i can update and get updated on my blogs. only... i haven't. i dunno what it is with me, i guess i have to be in a certain mood to wanna rant online and read other peoples ramblings. not that i dont enjoy it, but.... i dunno, i guess im just in a different mood. i feel awful that i havent gotten around to it. really. i do.

anywho, since ast i spoke ive completed my first semester at the wonderful Academy Of Art University (is that "of" supposed to be capitalized? o well.) i reall really enjoyed my time there, it wont be long before i go back and subject myself to amounts of work id rather not think about right now. and speaking of work.... i need to get a job. ive applied at a few large corporate electronics retailers with no luck. *sigh* i reeeaaally need a job. its gotten to the point where my bank wont over draft money from my savings into my checking anymore because there isnt enough in my savings to be doing that sort of thing. so they charged me about 160 dollars for overdrawing like 8 time in december. o well.

now that i think about it.... i dunno how i did in my classes...... i should find out.

and i just did

A
C
B
C

in design problem solving, perspective, model making and computer drafting. respectively.

no surprises there thats pretty much what i thought id get. the bad news is, i didnt have a job while i took those classes and my classes next semester will no doubt be even more demanding. i dont know where i will find the time.

Rain

I am currently on bart. it is pouring rain outside. and this song came
up on my ipod and I thought it was just too appropriate, so it reminded
me to blog, which I haven't done in a while.

let me start by again saying thank you to "shrimp" for your well wishes,
I owe you so much for your confidence in me.

anywho, 2 weekends ago (sorry, I meant to blog sooner, really, I
promise, but I haven't had internet..... even less than usual. cuz
nathans desktop isn't working at all, the desktop at my aunts is not
connecting, the internet at home isn't working and my laptop only
connected for a few minutes at my aunts. which is why I'm typing this
out on my sidekick) so yeah, 2 weekends ago was my birthday. I turned
the big 21. woo! now I can drink, cuz as you all know, I'm a huge
drinker. yep. didn't have a single drink that day. or since for that
matter. yes, I know, I'm lame. get overe it. I did.

saturday was my sisters soccer game, which sher unfortunately lost, but
her team played an awesome season, so grats to them for being one of the
best teams in the league. after the game was a get together for my
birthday. I was sent on a wild plexiglass chase in order to get me out
of the house, at which point a surpriser party was put together for me.
I saw it coming.... the cars parked at the highschool was a dead give
away. sorry guys. can't fool me.

anywho, all my friends werer there. well.... ther ones I know in person
and stuff. even melissa and arash found a way to fit me in to theire
busy schedules. j/k guys. not that it matters, since neithere of you
read this. anywho, thanks to all my other friends for making it up
there, it really was a surprise to see all you guys up there, and I had
an awesome time. no offenser lacey, but I half expected you there, not
that I didn't thoroughly enjoy your presence.... or your presents?
everyones presence and thei presents. can I stop with this joke now? cuz
its supere lame.

anywho, ther next day I headed out to the city and hooked up with
the.... the... I dunno what to call you, ther non petaluma people? and
went to ther niner game. my dad and aunt and ther usual tailgaters werer
out there throwing a party and they had me invite my friends to join in
ther festivities.... and ken acquired some tickets, so we ended up going
in after all. so that was fun, the niners won, it was good times for
all.

since cer then, its ben school madness with me going in to school 6 days
straight between monday and saturday. not good times. we are working on
building a hydraulic arm out of some sort of material of our choice
(wood) and plastic syringes (to move the segments of the arm) I got the
claw built and working, which was the hard part. we have to figure out
how and where we will be placing the syringes to move the arm, and how
to get the rotational part to work (a sort of pulley thing we tried to
build) I'll have pics of that in the coming days.

while that's going on, I am sanding out my teapot which is just about
done, it just needs a handle. and then I can sperate the 2 halves, cast
it in plastic to creat a mold which I will use to make a plaster like
model of it. and then it will be painted, so I'm still in the first
stages of it.

meanwhile, drawings are constantly being done in my other 2 classes,
which I'm probably behind in, but honestly, those drawing don't amount
to as much as the hydraulic arm and teapot do in my other classes. so...
if I pass with a c in computer drafting I'll be satisfied and if I get a
b in perspective I'll be extatic, but a c will be acceptable. the other
2 classes I'm planning on getting at least Bs. so yeah. *crosses
fingers* wish me luck!

DOA

sorry for the lack of post in a month or so. again, no constant supply of internet to speak of. as it is i am at school in the computer lab and just lost internet access because of.. i dunno. i guess they dont like when you surf too much or something. so im typing in the blogger box cuz it happened to be open at the time.

so anyway, school has been getting a little crazy. i just finished midterm... so i turned in major things in all my classes. in comp drafting... nothing major just 6 3 view drawings of an electronic handheld that i designed (an ipod movie player... before it actually came out). in perspective i completed my simlple and complex perspective drawings. the simple ended up being a jet-looking thing and the complex was a jeep type truck. in model making i built a box out of wood and acrylic. it came out... ok at best. and its not COMPLETELY finished, but i cant say why. i also have a foam handheld device to start on. more on that later. and finally in design problem solving a built a balsa wood bridge. details on that can be found at my moblog. but basically... i stayed up all night (didnt sleep at all whatsoever) the night before finishing it up. and it paid off since mine held 85 lbs. and set the class record. whheee!

as for the foam thing... it was supposed to be due the day the box was due.... but since most people werent done and our class recovered the teacher's GF's lost digital camera he gave us an extension. that night on the way home i left my tool box on a bart train. it was inside. all the progress i had made (see moblog) was lost. that was last thurs. there is still no word on the tool box i will prolly have to replace a bunch of supplies, including the box itself. *sigh* so i have to start over and i got a second extension.

i just tried to recheck my connection... and i am still off limits. dammit. i better get internet back quick cuz i have to go to class.

aside from the bart mishap, everythings going ok.

according to the calendar my birthday is coming up. its weird because i used to be excited by now. but i find myself... not. maybe something special will happen anyway.

and i just got internet back. time to post.

Up And Away

as of my last post i have been officially attending Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco. ive gone to each of my classes at loeast twice now and i can honestly say i will enjoy this semester. im not saying it will by any means be easy, because it definitely sounds rigerous and challenging, but at least it is relevant to what i want to do as a career and it will indeed be fun. my classes are as follows:

Perspective for Industrial Design - this class begins with a drafting style drawing that i didnt expect. so... we drew simple objects (box, pyramid, cylinder) from top, side and front views. simple enough, i took drafting in high school, so this is a breeze. but now we are begining to get into actual perspective, which means we will be drawing objects that appear 3 dimensional because their sides seem to converge on vanishing points along the horizon. like so:
in fact, that is exactly like my hw for tonight. i need to take plan (top) and elevation (side) views of an object and make it 3D by giving it perspective.







Model Making - in this class i will again be using my drafting skills to sketch out and design objects (3 in all) and actuaally build them from materials that we have on hand. our first project is a box. or more specoificly a display case for something. we will have wood and acrilic (clear plastic) to use for this build. we have to design the box EXACTLY to the specifications (and scale) as we will want the finished product to look. and then, build it. i forget what our second project is, but our final project will be a teapot. sounds simple but they are built to look real and finished like something you would buy. but they are also artisitically designed like this one done by a student:
so yeah, thats made of foam i believe and painted to a professional finish using industrial grade equipment. i took a tour of our shop last night. its state of the art with full size paint booths and a complete set of the best automotive quality paint, which is likely what was used on that teapot.







Computer Drafting - this seems like the most un-interesting class i have, eventhough it is probably most related to what i want to do for a living. in this class we use a program to do our drafting for us. so basically all the drawing i do in the above classes, with a mouse and keyboard. the worst part is that we use a program that NO ONE in the industry uses. it is similar to AutoCAD, but its different enough to be frustrating for me to use. it is fairly intuitive but its not the same. it would be like using Paint Shop Pro in a class about graphic design while EVERYONE in the industry uses photoshop. *sigh* plus its super boring watching a screen as the teacher does demos. im gonna need lots of caffeines.

Design Problem Solving - this class is very interesting. on our first day we were told to build a cantilever out of spaghetti. for those who dont know what a cantilever is, it is a structure that extends outwards from another but is supported only on one side. the best example i can give you is to outstretch your arm. that is a cantilever. supported at your shoulder but otherwise free or any other support. my group did... ok. actuaally ours was the shortest only because i wasnt finished yet. other groups' were longer but had arched down to the floor. in this class we will be doing McGuyver type stuff. our first project will be to construct a water pump out of simple objects such as a funnel, soda bottles, a dowel, super balls, a foot of vynil tubing and as much adhesive/sealant as we want. its alot harder than it sounds, and it sounded impossible.

so yeah, thats a rundown of my classes, in other news, ive been staying at my aunt's house in South San Francisco with my dad. i sleep on the couch most days, and get my dad's bed when hes out of town. my back hasnt been much more sore than usual, so i think its working out ok. i am currently using their computer to type out this post. its in the boys' room, which is actually a basement. so... i have NO cell phone signal here at all. so if youre trying to get ahold of me, im sorry.



last weekend we finally replaced my poor truck. with its twin. the new one is identical to the old one in every way, except that it has a different brand camper shell and has several other upgrades that i had only dreamt of putting on the old one already installed. and what it doesnt have uypgraded i had already upgraded on the old one, and saved. so.. by next weekend, it will be pretty much done. here are some pics (of the new one):

and last, but certainly not least, rene left for Japan monday, we sent her off friday night with dinner at Bucca Di Beppo, a family style italian restaurant in San Francisco. i had a blast. i hope she enjoys herself there in Japan, cuz we'll certainly miss her. im glad that i got to see her before she left, at the very least.

and speaking of "up and away" i got 2 parking tickets on consecutive days for not curbing my whells while parked at nathans house. *sigh* cuz i have money. and the police department is busy.

thats all for now.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

as promised:

1. I don't know where to start
2. my favorite color is green
3. I'm currently unemployed
4. I'm a scorpio
5. and I like long walks on the beach. actually I really do. I'm
serious
6. I'm intraverted. but wish I wasn't.
7. my first car was a 1988 ford taurus
8. I am the oldest of 3. I have a younger brother (16) and a younger
sister (12)
9. I design cars for a hobby
10. I love to drive
11. I am totally obsessed with cars, especially how they look
12. I like just about anything car related. (can you tell?)
13. I currently drive a 1995 Acura Integra
14. 3 is a speacial number
14. I used to play a lot of video games
15. World Of Warcraft is the only game I play anymore
16. I am currently a level 54 Human Mage (Cenarious server, named
Gulalur if you wanna play)
17. I need a job
18. some nights I just can't sleep
19. as a child I deamt of going to Stanford
20. as an adult I dreamt of going to The Academy of Art University
21. I am currently enrolled at AAU
22. I have an Australian Shephard named Layla
23. yes, she's named after the song
24. I wear glasses
25. I've had asthma all my life
26. I have flat feet
27. my hip is sort of crooked, as a result, one leg is barely longer
than the other
28. I have chronic back pain from bad posture, and a genetically
outa-wack back
29. I am afraid of being drafted into the military, but due to 24-28
doubt they'd have much use for me
30. as a child, I had a leash
31. I'm named after my dad
32. who was named after his uncle
33. who was probably named after someone who was named after someone
too. etc. and so on
34. apparently my TV turns off by itself
35. my favorite band is Led Zeppelin
36. my favorite song of theirs is "Dazed and Confused"..... no wait,
"Stairway To Heaven". no, "Since I've Been Loving You". yeah.
37. my favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla
38. I like pepsi. so hah!
39. I've never traveled off the north american continent
40. and I've only left CA for NV, AZ (barely) and Mexico
41. I REALLY wanna go to Hawaii
42. my middle name is Edward
43. I often misspell my own name
45. I hate green peas
46. I am 100% Mexican
47. yet I don't like beans much
48. I think I have issues sleeping sometimes
49. I've seen every episode of CSI. multiple times. and I probably
remember what happens in each one.
50. I'm about halfways done. wheeeee!
51. I admit, I don't remember to brush my teeth every day
52. yet I have never had a single cavity. ever.
53. my room is full of flourescent black light posters
54. and a black light
55. and a lava lamp
56. I listen to a lot of late 60s and 70s rock
57. but I don't smoke pot/weed/marajuana/grass
58. or do any other drugs
59. I don't drink either
60. I'm a dork, I know, I admit it
61. the following statement is true
62. the above statement is false
63. I was born the day before halloween.
64. my 2 favorite baseball teams are the giants and whoever is playing
the dodgers.
65. I'll have a double double with cheese, animal style with a Vanilla
Shake or a Mr. Pibb. to go
66. my sister is named emily
67. she owns a chihuahua named chica. original, I know
68. my brother is named chris.
69. he owns my old iPod
70. I love to drive and just get lost.
71. I HAVE seen all 3 LOTR movies. and I own all 3 on special extended
edition DVD
72. I like strawberries. but I don't like to eat/drink/smell anything
strawberry flavored/scented
73. I'm not a ford guy, or a chevy guy. I'm a dodge guy. (but I want a
toyota tacoma... shhh!)
74. I wonder what percentage of this list is car related.
75. I am writing this list on my T-Mobile Sidekick II, so I can add to
it whenever
76. 1 15170111 989312 6003.... 501278
77. I never really owned a pager
78. my favorite disney animated movie is probably Emperor's New Groove.
it was very under rated and it was pretty damn funny. also, it reminds
me of our trip to mexico
79. I'm pretty tolerant of people not being nice. especially if I know
them or they are my friend.
80. my toe is in an excruciating amount of pain right now
81. I'm bad at spelling
82. and I'm too lazy to correct typos
83.0 05 is today's date. its 2:26 and I'm hungry, bored, tired and hot.
84. is the year I was born. and what I fine year it was.
85. most of this list was written late at night (or early in the
morning) while overdue for sleep.
86. I'm a very impatient driver, especially if I'm in a rush
87. I'm often in a rush
88. I've always placed friends at a higher priority than school
89. I'm not as excited as a should be about going to the school of my
dreams.
90. when I get tired I stop making sense. (I had something different
written there, but upon closer inspection I have no idea what it said)
91. I will eat just about anything
92. but there is a lot of stuff I would prefer not to.
93. my back reeally really hurts
94. I have 3344 songs on my ipod
95. I have more on my computer
96. this is my first day of school
97. I am currently in Perspective Drawing
98. I used 14 twice
99. I'm done.

Magic Carpet Ride

so i spent this past week/weekend in LA. well..... on saturday i went down and stayed the night at my dads in South SF. we left early sunday morning in my uncles Lexus RX300. ive driven it before. but only around town here. its slightly different on highway 5.

anyways, this things got a GPS Nav system. and it was pretty funny, cuz my uncle entered disneyland into it ahead of time, so we can find our way there.... as if we'd never been there before. anyways, it had us going down highway 5, as well it should. but we were going to my aunts house in McFarland, which is a own on highway 99. so... we wanted to head to highway 99. and, as soon as we strayed from our course our nav system continuously re plotted our course as we passd up possible points to turnaround and rejoin the nav's course. eventually, after toying with the system i found a way to get an alternate route, which took us down 99. and there we had it. not that we needed the system, but it was nice to watch us go down 99.

anywho, we made relatively good time, havign stopped in tracy for ice, then at my aunts to pick up the stuff my brother haad left, then again at the base of the grapevine to switch drivers (i finally got to drive!!!) then again at LA to switch back. my dad didnt want me to navigate LA traffic in a Lexus. anywho, the lexus was nice, luxurious, and smooth... it was no performer. it was hard to keep with the person in front of me after slow downs, cuz it didnt accelerate very fast, especially up hill. sunday night we went to Downtown Disney for dinner and walked around a bit after checking in to the hotel. we ate at the Catal. the outdoor one (each restaurant has a high end VIP Lounge type area, a mid level restaurant area, and a cheaper outdoor type restaurant eating area..... thing.)

the next day we got up early and hit disney at just after opnening time. B lined to the newly re opened space mountain. the wait was only about 30 minutes. not bad for the most exciting new ride in the park. we then went to star tours and fast passed the buzz lightyear ride. star tours was nothing new. ive ridden it dozens of times, and...... it needs a serious update. its all rickity and shaky and rattly. anywho, then we went to buzz lightyear. that was fun, because its basically like one of the storybook rides where you sit in a seat on a cart and the seat rotates. only this one's rotation is controlled by a joystick on the front of the caar. the car also has a pair of laser guns used to hit targets all along the track. you are given a score, and are graded based on how high you score. its not exciting, but it is pretty fun. after that it was 10 and time to head over to CA Adventure which just opnened. the first thing i did there was buy a churro. mmm..... then we rode the new tower of terror ride, which was quite exciting. we then rode soarin', the maliboomer and of course the ferris wheel. we also watched a movie called "Golden Dremas" and braved the challendge trail. og yeah. we also went on the raft ride... and were thoroughly drenched. we went back to the hotel after then to change, cuz , frankly, it wasnt all that hot out. at about 8 we headed across to the main park. just in time for the 9:25 fireworks display. we got awesome spots on Mainstreet, dead center. chris and i camped out the spot while emily and my dad went to get foods. by the time they returned they had already roped off a walkway in front of us and people had started gathering.

the show was absolutely amazing. it featured segments based on many of the atractions in the park, with seperate lighting effects on the castle (which is actually backwards..... did YOU know that?) and the matterhorn, as well as a distinct fireworks set to go with it. all of this accompanied by familiar music and voices blasting over speakers all over the park. after the show, there was a HUGE stampede of thousands of people toward the exit. naturally we clung to a fance waiting for people to get by, then escaped to pirates of the Caribean to help wait out the madness. always a fun ride.

the next day we got off to a relatively early start. or at least i did. i took off without my family and hung out downtown till they decided to join me. we went again into disneyland and rode the matterhorn. another ride that needs an update, that ride kiccked my ass, and it wasnt exciting so much as it was rough. we went again into tommorowland for the inoventions show where we saw Asimo, the robot from Honda, that thing is very impressive indeed. the fast passes were out of commission that day so... we were stuck with having to wait in line. we went on splash mountain, thunder mountain, indiana jones, and watched the "first 50 yrs." movie which was a video hosted by steve martin (who began his entire career by riding his bike to disneyland on opening day and getting a job on the spot at the magic shop... did YOU know that?). i also had another churro as well as a famous turkey leg during the course of that day. we headed back to the hotel for a rest and a swim, and went back to the park for Fantasmic. we got crappy point s of view cuz we got there like 15 minutes before it started, but it turned out well cuz we were right at the walkway, so we were able to make a quick exit. the thing is... the fireworks show begins immediately after fantasmic. so.... as we walked across the park to tomorow land, the sky was exploding and tinkerbell was flying around. i was able to snap a few shots while we walked through the designated walkways during the show, moved along by cast members with lightup thingies.

we made it to the monorail station before the show was over and had to wait for it to end. we rode it to downtown disney where we were gonna eat. despite the fact that we were unable to make reservations at rainforest cafe. leuckily for us, it was only a 15 minute wait for a wlak in when we went (which was about 10pm). we ate there, then drove back to the hotel.

i slept ok. woke early again. i woke early every day we were there. usually about 10 minutes before i had planned to. which was 7 am. i decided to get ready ealry and i was packed and ready to go by 830. so i decided to walk to downtown disney again and hung out at the world of disney, a huge shop that has a bunch of stuff that you prolly cant get anywhere else but inside the park. after spending some time there, i finally got a call from my dad so emily and i left and went to the McDonald's across from the park. from there we left for home. we made very good time considering we stopped a couple of times to switch drivers.

we returned the lexus and hung out at my uncles for a while, then finally came home. and that was that. i had a good time.

Stay

I think this is my first request. for a post that is. I also mader her request a songh too. so this post is in response to carinne's threat inher last comment.

I gave this a lot of thought throughout the day. and based largely on the days events, I'd have to say the #1 important thing to getting me through each day would be my collection of friends. my friends range quite a bit. and regardless of the role they play in my sanity, they're all very important. and just because I've never met some of my friends doesn't mean they're any less important. even you guys who I know onlythrough the internet are just as vital to my survival.

this isn't to say that I don't love my family... but to me, friends are a different kind of family. cuz... you're born with your real family, you're kinda stuck with them, and they to you. your friends, however, are chosen, and they choose to stay with you, therefor making therelationship special and unique in every case.

without the support, distraction and commeradery provided by you guys I dunno where I'd be. and I just wanted to say I appreciate it. and if you're wondering if I am refering to you or not.... if you've ever readand commented on my blog, then yeah, I mean you.

I mean... the simple act of caring enough to come back and check in on me and leave comments and advice and w/e boggles my mind. with a couple of exceptions, all my friends read andcomment here, and that means a lot to me. and if not, at least they know when my birthday is. *sigh*

in other news, my brother, who is with my sister visiting in Southern California with family is in the hospital. after spending the day puking and getting progressively weaker, they took him to the emergency. its likely he was dehydrated, the doctor just saw him not too long ago. I'll
find out what the diagnosis was tomorow.that said. I direct your attention to the "angel of harlem" link in my sidebar. that's restless angel's blog. read her post about water. then
go get yourself a glass.