The Hiatus of Resolution

Short vlog with quick little updates:

1. Began a Facebook hiatus and am really enjoying the free time that it has created.  Facebook was the gateway procrastination.  Facebook lead to imgur and that pretty much stole my entire day.  With very few days left here I wanted to make the most of it...and maybe get back to actually talking to people instead of just seeing status updates and photos.

2.  I think I have decided that I am done trying to grow my hair long.  It just doesn't behave well when it is longer and I have no idea how to train it well enough.  So short haircuts from now on and sadly I have to wait for an appointment until I can have it cut.  I dislike that it is so difficult to get a decent haircut here.  Going to be bringing in a photo of Orlando Bloom and show them what I want instead of having another bad haircut.

3.  I feel like I am in Limbo.  I am stuck in a moment of time between two different lives and two different locations.  It is as if I am not 100% in either place and it makes me antsy.

Knock Knock | Who's There? | Sanity | Well come on Insanity

Well, just finished taking the twelve awkward beginning photos for the Insanity 60 day challenge.  They have us take them every 30 days and in return get a free t-shirt and a chance to win $100,000.  Not bad for posting shirtless photos online for strangers to see....right?

I thought it would be a perfect thing to start since I have just over 60 days left in this country.  If I stick to it I should finish one complete round before I head back to America.  Here is to hoping for some improvement in strength.  I have become a bit weak since I have been lazy in this foreign country.

I decided to post the pictures here instead of on Facebook to limit the amount of viewers.  So here ya go!  Here is the flyer I put together for "Day 01" with all the requested shots.

Blogging...etc.

You know, looking through my past posts on this blog I quickly realize how happy I am that a select few actually read these.  More often than not, the words that end up spilling onto this blog make me look either insane or like a not very good person.  A friend of mine just started a blog since she is about to head out for an exchange program in Greece.  Her first blog post was so funny and witty that I couldn't help but smile.  Maybe where I go wrong is by being so introspective and so open-heartedly honest.  This post is another one of those...

I do have an actual physical journal where most people put this kind of stuff but the stuff I put there is even deeper and would make me seem even crazier.  What I post here is rather mild in comparison.  However, such introspective blog posts don't compel the reader to continue to read.  I don't lace these things with enough word-induced visuals or witty commentary.  My blog posts are rather plain and boring.  I've thought about it...and I don't really think it is something I can change simply by digging into my creative writing casket that sits beneath mounds of experiences from other areas of my life.  I need to change me.  I need to revive myself before I can attempt to breath any life into this lifeless block of text.  For what is writing but a reflection of one's self, one's inner-core?

In other news:
Making progress on my random side animation project.  Going for the real deal this time.  No long days and late nights to try to pump one out in a couple days.  I am working step by step and am now in the storyboard phase.  Loving the pencil to paper beginning steps I am taking with this project.  It may turn out half-decent.

Have you been drinking?

So, I'm not sure if I should share this or not...but, as always, I am going to go against my better judgement mainly because of how the story is one part funny and one part heartwarming.  That is...I hope I'm not the only one laughing at it...

Let the story begin:

Last night I did one of my silly late-nighters that occur because I fall into a project and just want to see it to the end.  The project wasn't anything important or dire but I just had to finish it.  We have been working on a "Hunger Games" type map on a Will's server in Minecraft.  I had a space in the arena that I was working on that I deemed the mushroom kingdom.  Mushroom Kingdom basically consists of a bunch of giant mushrooms made into small homes.  Not sure how much you know about Minecraft, my dear reader, but you can't just build a giant mushroom house.  It takes about 9 planted mushrooms and you have to grow each of them in a specific order in a specific way to make the perfect mushroom house.  Needless to say, it takes a long time to make one mushroom house...but it is worth every second because they are just so cute.

After I finished my houses and topping the castle I then decided to continue my building process and built some sewers below with winding turning tunnels that split off in different directions.  This was also time consuming because not only did the sewers stretch beyond the borders but I had to make them pretty looking with different kinds of blocks.  I also added spider webs...a little fun in the creative process.  However, when I finished I wasn't done yet.

The next project was to create a beam of light that towered from the center of the area.  This shouldn't have been too difficult of a project had I known that you can't build a beacon underwater, you can't build it underground, and more importantly the beacon must have a clear view of the sky.  Trust me...until I read it online I tried all sorts of things to get it to work in all the places that I apparently was not supposed to be able to.  Now a sane person would call it quits here since they have now finished three somewhat big projects for something that holds no ground in real life progress....but if you know me then you know I am not sane...

The final project derived from the dislike of having to travel all the way back to the arena from my previous save location in the game the last time we fought together.  When you die you respawn in the last place you slept.  I also wanted to make it so that when you respawn you can still watch the action from above while not getting in the way or confusing those that are still in the game.  So I built a large glass platform high above the center of the arena complete with beds that we each contender can sleep on as to set a new and convenient save point.  It was a 25 block by 25 block platform with the beds on a 5 block by 5 block wool section in the center.

I gazed at my completed projects with satisfaction.  Anything and everything I had in my mind to complete for the arena was now successfully completed.  Unfortunately, it was 3:00am, the heat was off,  my body lost control of its temperature regulation, and Katrina's alarm was going to go off in about 3 hours.  I also had a lot planned for today so the use of daytime hours would be greatly useful.  So I decided enough was enough, closed down Minecraft, pulled the earplugs out of my ears that were playing the one song that I had been listening on repeat all night, and went up to bed while trying not to touch Katrina with my popsicle arms.

Now I know none of that sounds funny or even heartwarming but that was just a very lengthy backstory to the part that is coming up...

I barely remember Katrina's alarm going off because I most likely only had about 2 hours of sleep when her series of spaced apart alarms started serenading the bedroom.  I also very vaguely remember hearing Katrina talking to me but all I remembered was the word "drinking" followed by a general feeling of confusion brought on but the sudden attempt to reboot the exhausted brain.  When I finally came to at around 11:00am Katrina was long gone so I started my planned day.

The day before I wrote a list on one of my white boards of all the things I wanted to accomplish as well as a few rules: No Facebook, No Pinger, No ooVoo, and No YouTube.  Basically I put a goal to avoid any social activities that would suck me in and take away to productiveness of my day.  As I struggled at the computer to avoid those sites I decided to jump start with something productive on the internet so I did some banking stuff and then started at the top of my list. "10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, and then shower".  The first three tasks were fairly easy and quick so I pumped them out.

As happens most often, my mind received a bit of clarity while soaking in the hot water cascading down from the shower head.  My subconscious connected the dots of the Scotch bottle missing from where I last touched it on the day I bought it (something that didn't quite yet occur to the conscious mind in my morning activities) and Katrina's vague yet confusing accusation.  She thought I was up late last night drinking by myself downstairs while she slept as possibly a way to drink in secret since she has accused me of the possibility of being an alcoholic in the past. 

I have reminded her many times that I do not drink that often and, on the rare occasion that I do, I most often drink in the company of at least one other.  I have told her not to worry and that I am not an alcoholic...but then again isn't that what most alcoholics say when they are in the stage of denial.  With that in mind there is no way to prove to her that I am not an alcoholic since my words and actions are not enough to gain her trust towards the truth.

Now this may not be funny to you or maybe even heartwarming but I can't help but laugh at the fact that she thought I was drinking and that unless she trusted me completely would have an easy time believing I was drinking with my late night alone, an empty glass next to my computer that I used for soda earlier in the night, and my slow-to-reboot brain in the morning.  I also find it heartwarming that she cares enough about me to hide the Scotch bottle because she thinks I have a drinking problem.  That isn't sarcasm.  It is nice to know that someone cares.  She also hid it very well.  Trust me, I looked. ;)

I'll be sure to talk to her about it when she gets home and hopefully we can share a laugh together about the funny misunderstanding of events.  It is also my hope that after this she has more faith in me and my character.  I do have certain values that I hold pretty dear.  Honesty is generally near the top of those values.

The Scorpion Gang of my Dreams

So, I had a pretty awesome dream last night/this morning.  It started with us all standing in a long line down a dimly blue-lit hallway.  Then these gang members pulled out small automatic weapons and started randomly shooting around the people but not hitting anyone...maybe just to scare them.  No one was really phased by it but the gang members were having a fun time.  I somehow recognized them as being members of a gang known as the scorpions.  By this time the line stopped moving but I felt like I had to get out of there...the reason of why is foggy now...but they just kept firing around as I moved my way up passed the halted line. The line was bottle-necked at a doorway with a very short hallway leading straight to another open door to a small room.  Once I pushed pass those people I found that was where the stoppage was occurring.  There were maybe three to four people slightly scattered from the end of the stopped line.  They kind of looked at me as I walked by...I can't remember if it was fear or indifference but I know that the last guy (a topically bald guy in a dark grey suit) had a slight bit of fear in his eyes.  I kept walking thinking I had to get out of there.  As I made it to about the halfway point of the room I felt two pops in the mid-back.  I was shot by some sort of darts.  I wasn't sure the effect those darts would bring so I picked up the pace a bit and rushed into a nearby door.  It was a small bar with a small stage that had someone playing live music.  I felt my back and could feel two prickly barbs sticking out near my spine.  Without hesitation I yelled through the bar if anyone had nails or a tweezers.  A guy with long blonde hair and a darker stubbly beard said that he had both nails and a tweezers.  I said "Good, I need your help pulling these barbs out."  I lifted up my shirt and he started tugging at one of the barbs.  I would occasionally look back at the door I came through to see if anyone was going to follow me in.  The thoughts in my mind were that I still had no idea what effects those barbs were going to cause (because I didn't notice any effects yet) and that this area was really unsafe.  He kept tugging.  That barb was really stuck in there.  I could feel it pulling the skin up like the dart was made with hooks that made it impossible to pull out.    However, if you pull on it hard enough the skin will eventually break.  Then he said "There we go."  I still felt him pulling on the barb but I knew that by his words the skin was finally stretching a bit to make it look like he was making progress in removing the barb.  Then my paranoia hit its peak and I told him that we need to move some where safer.  It was going to be either wait until he can get that first barb out and possibly get ambushed or ignore the possible incoming effects, move to a safer location. and start restart trying to pull the barbs out again.

Then I woke up...

Sane or not insane?

The internet is great for sharing.  It is also great for impressions.  Meaning, that people form an impression of you solely on what you post/say/create online.  Even if they meet you in person, the impression that they gain from such a mass media form will stick with them.  That being said, I am on the fence about sharing some stuff.  On one hand, it would show to a mass majority how mentally insane I am and offer information to many that thought they new me so well.  On the other hand, I like to share too much especially when something hits me in the slightest.  Most of the time I keep it as my own little secret.  Sometimes I share with Katrina.  Sometimes I also share with really close friends in hopes that my lunacy not degrade our friendship and that they are a slight bit understanding.  Maybe writing this post will satisfy me enough to get rid of the urge to share.  I first thought about writing it her since this is still somewhat hidden and private from the majority...but then I thought about sharing it on one of my vlogs...showing the world my insanity.  Eh, maybe I should just talk to Katrina since she already knew about some of my craziness and still agreed to marry me.

Ode To Phantom Hair

Oh phantom hair you do so amaze me
So long and clear and flow-y
Where do you come from how do you grow
These are things I would really like to know
You appear like magic out of thin air
You really do amaze me oh phantom hair