Friends...the diamond in the rough.

Friends, what are they good for? It can be argued that one can go through life without friends just fine. Well, I am here to tell you that if you do then you are missing out on what life is all about! Friends have been an integral part of my life. Many of the memories that I cherish most are memories that came because of what I have done with my friends. I wish to share a little here about my experiences...

I have had many friends in the past. First I would like to talk about those friends that have always been there for me. There are some friends that I have had since I was in my momma's womb...or at least it feels like it... As a young man-child we had great adventures together. Not only did we have adventures then, but we are still friends and continue to have adventures together now. The thing is, through bad and good, they have been there for me. We are all here in this life (which many times is rough on a daily basis), but that "diamond in the rough" that can help us not only survive, but enjoy life, are the friends we have.

Some of my most cherished memories come from adventures I have had with a specific group of friends (we called ourselves "the gang" growing up). There were 5 of us, and we would play together almost every day. One of "the gang" was a genius, and he was our gang-leader. He would come up with the most intricate, involved, and exciting games. We used to play many different role-playing games that he made up. These became very intricate and some even took years to finish. Yes, I like RPG's (role playing games)...I am a nerd, but proud of it. The thing was these weren't just normal RPG's that one may imagine a bunch of nerds sitting around playing, these were adventures. We would play them all over the place, including one of my favorite places - the trampoline. We didn't roll dice like you may think, but we actually acted it out (haha, I know, that sounds nerdy). I could go into great detail about these, but I won't for the sake of whoever may be reading this. There was one game that I loved to play (not an RPG)...this one had to do with the idea of a Free Market world. We would 'buy' plots of land (whether inside our friend's house or outside in the yard), and we would each 'buy' whatever else was available (such as Nerf guns, tables, toys, etc.). We would then set up our area/shop/attraction however we wanted. After doing so we would manage our places of attraction and then every once in a while venture to other people's places and play games, buy candy, or take advantage of whatever they offered. This game would last for hours, and was very enjoyable. Another thing we would do regularly is make movies, commercials, and other random videos. I won't tell details about those...but if anyone wants to see them, just ask. Ok, before I ramble on and on I will end with this section. Needless to say we had many memorable experiences, and it is those experiences that I cherish about my man-childhood.

Lately some of my roommates and I met some new best friends. This is what even got me thinking about friends and got me motivated to write this blog. We were at the hot tub one night, and out of the blue these girls showed up. I won't go into detail, but let's just say new best friends were made. We have been hanging out and loving life together for the past week now. The awesome thing is that we are all very similar (in being crazy, have great senses of humor, a little quirky, fun, etc.). Quite frankly I had all but given up that there were people of the opposite sex similar to us...but I am so very happy to have been proven wrong! We have already had some amazing adventures together, and I look forward to have endless amounts of adventure together in the future!

I should probably finish, not that anyone is reading this, especially by now. Needless to say, I love my friends. Not only do we have fun together, but we support eachother. Yeah, going through life alone is possible, and some people may like that...but to that concept I say "BAH!". There have been times in my life (luckily not long amounts of time) where I have felt alone and without friends, and I can say that it sucks bricks. Friends rock, and that's all there is too it! Friends truly are a diamond in the rough...

Another Drought, Another Committment

Wow, what has it been now...six months since my last post?  Well, I want to change the cycle I have gotten myself into (writing every few months).  The world needs to hear me, and I want to shout out to it!  Haha, ok, so the world probably doesn't want to hear all that I have to say, but this is a good place to say things that most people don't care to hear about!  From here on out I will post more often...and if I don't, well, I guess I will not have really changed...

Life Is A Pineapple

So here it goes again...I have had a writing drought...but alas, the time has come to eat pineapple. When I was young I disliked pineapple very much. I disliked many things, such as puss, killer spiders, and cooties. What that has to do with anything I don't know, but the point is that I didn't like pineapple. When my mom would make a fruit bowl salad I would pick around the pineapple and enjoy the beautiful tastes of the other fruits. I went to visit some friends in Hawaii one summer when I was in high school. There were pineapple fields everywhere there, and wow, I thought that I was in the land of filth and disgust! Ok, so not really, but I didn't like pineapples. Well, at least that's what I thought...until I tried one fresh from the field! My friends' mom brought home a fresh pineapple one day and cut it up to give to us. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try - and I was not disappointed! It was DELICIOUS!!! The sweet juices splashed their way down my throat, rejoicing all the way! The pulp was tender, and had a strangely satisfying texture to it. At that moment my life changed drastically for the better. I discovered something beautiful, and though I still reject the lower forms of old pineapple, I still have a wonderful taste in my mouth from the fresh and beautiful form of pineapple.

Life is a pineapple. For much of my life I have had to live around the degraded and lowly pineapple...what I mean by that is that life has not always been a fun and "beautiful" thing. Pain surrounds us everyday. The world is full of things that may look enticing and good, but are far from it in the end. Many times we can avoid some of the pains of life, just as I would refrain from eating pineapple growing up. Sometimes we cannot avoid it to get the joys in life, such as when I would have to pick around the pineapple to get to the delicious stuff in the fruit bowl. There have been times in my life that I have experienced the fresh-from-the-field pineapple; pineapple that has come fresh from the source. In life those are the times that I experience the things of the Spirit...things of the Lord. That is where the true joy and beauty comes from. I have recently received the blessing of experiencing the fruit of the Lord. I will not go into detail, for it is a personal and sacred thing to me, but life since that experience has been different. I still have the pain around me, and I still have to sift through the things of the world...but I have the memory and taste of that experience with the Spirit to sustain me. The Lord loves me, and he loves all of us. Life is hard, but we can experience the joy if we go straight to the source. And so it is: life is a pineapple...

A Poem

I dedicate this poem to the last few days of my life which has been full of sickness. Let me also warn, I am not better yet, and though this may make sense to me while I write it, it may be utterly nonsensical! I call this "KABLAM":

*Caugh - caugh*, I wake up in the night
Too weak to roll, my body aches
My blurry eyes peer, I have no sight
My blanket fails, feels like snowflakes

A rotten vegetable, my body pained
The sickness, oh, it conquers me
No control, my spirit is contained
Please oh please, just set me free

For days it lasts, no end is near
"I do not like green eggs and ham"
Oh wait, wrong poem I do fear
I share my feelings, here it goes - KABLAM!!!

It Begins

So, it begins... The launch of The United Federation of Planets is today, bringing a hope and vision for the future of mankind. It is launched today to counter the evil of the day (a lonely Valentines Day). One must not stand by idly while evil rears it's head. From this hour on The United Federation of Planets will fight the evils of the world. We must look past this Valentines Day to the future with a hope never witnessed before! Join the fight now, for victory will be ours!