December's Letter

Well, November began with taking Benny to the vet to have his abscessed tooth removed.  Mom took him to the vet a few months before and was just given antibiotics.  The abscessed tooth cleared up for a while but returned.  I dropped Benny off at 0830 and they told me they would call me in the afternoon to tell me how he was doing and when I could pick him up.  I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't a little bit worried about him.  But I knew he would be just fine.  Before I went to pick him up, I bought him some soft dog food.  It was somewhat humorous when they brought Benny to me.  His eyes were kinda half open as he was still woozy from the anesthesia.  He was probably thinking "What have you done to me?"  For the rest of the night he was confined to his crate.  The next day he was still a little bit listless, but by day three he was back to his usual hyper self.  But I could still tell he was still hurting b/c he would still grumble every now and then.

I was trying to reseal the back porch in the 2nd week of November.  It was still somewhat warm at 75 degrees F.  However, the bugs like to explore during the warm hours before winter sets in.  There were plenty of wasps and Japanese lady bugs flying around.  I was concerned about the wasps, so I read about natural ways to repel them.  If you fill a zip loc bag with water and a penny, it will resemble a spider web and a spider.  Bugs won't voluntarily fly into a spider web.  It has to do something with the wasps compound eyes that make the bag of water look like a spider web.  Well, that didn't work.  I even saw a wasp land on the bag of water.  Another way is to blow up a brown paper bag and hang it up.  It resembles a nest; wasps are territorial and will think this area is already occupied.  But I did not have a brown paper bag to try that one out.  The best way to repel them was to wait until the sun was about to set.  They like to sleep too.

I was supposed to go to a friends wedding, but I slept in and missed the time at which I was supposed to depart.  It was in Alabama. Does it mean that I am old when I have gone to 6 weddings in the past 6 months.  I have another friend who is getting married in January.  Maybe I won't miss that one at least.

So, since I donated all my late Dad's suits, it is time for me to start a collection of my own...slowly of course.  I have 2 sport coats and I kept one of my Dad's sport coats because it fits me well.  But doing research on suits brings me into a whole new world.  I will tell you this, I don't like cheap stuff.  Cheap as in "it's good for one use, then it falls apart".  I won't go into all the details of what makes a quality suit but I found a store in Chattanooga that has quality suits.  I decided to go all out and buy a whole new ensemble except for new shoes.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Ours was spent at Aunt Pam's where we ate twelve pies.  Okay, twelve pies were made, but I thought about eating twelve pies.  But if I did eat twelve pies that would be gluttony.

I've been playing with post-process Tilt-shift photography effects.  It's where a large scale image looks like a miniature.  A photo is attached of what I think is the best I have done.

I now know how to tie a tie four different ways.  Only eighty-one more to go. There's an app for that.


Until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This May Be Who You Are...

"This may be who you are, but it is not who you will become." - Sha'ira

If I want to push a heavy box across the floor, it requires more force to get the box into motion than the force required to keep the box in motion. In other words, it requires less force to keep the box in motion than it does to get the box moving. It is simple physics: static friction is always greater than kinetic friction. It takes a lot more force to get something to move, but once you have it moving, it is much easier.

What am I trying to get at here. Well, I think this applies to more than just physics.

If I look back at my life (thus far), it seemed easy. I do not recall working hard in middle school, but I know I did; I don't remember stressing out over some report in high school, but I know I did. But I do remember breaking down in college and wanting to change majors. Engineering was tough, but I was 4 semesters away from graduation and I thought it would be a waste to change now...er then. I remember pulling all-nighters and finishing papers 5 minutes before they were due. Looking back on it, it just seemed easy. But I know it took a lot of work.

Still, what am I trying to get at.

I am still trying to figure out what to do with my life (and I will probably spend my entire life trying to figure it out). But I am trying to at least figure out what I would like to do for the next three to five years. I have been exploring my options on what to do and where to go. It is just like pushing that box across the floor. It is always tough starting out. But once I get to where I am going, it will be a little easier.

But I know that no matter where I go, I might be somewhere that I never intended to be, but might love where it is.

November's Letter

November's Letter

Well, October went by fast. Not much to report on other than I finished painting…the walls at least. I still have some window trim and my bathroom trim to paint. Now to clean the garage and keep going through all our stuff that has accumulated over the years.

I donated all my late Dad's suits and trousers to the Men's Wearhouse National Suit Drive. I tried every single one of his suits and trousers seeing if any of them would fit. Only two out of the twelve items fit well on me.

My cousin, Reuben, came up to help around with the house. However, duties were cut short when Mom hurt her back by doing a little too much work. She is supposed to rest for two weeks (at the time of this writing, she is feeling much better now). We kept trying to stain the front door but the weather did not really cooperate.

I went to a rock concert the last Tuesday of October. I was supposed to take my friend, Helen, but she became ill and could not go. My aforementioned cousin, Reuben, was here so I asked if he wanted to go. It turns out, that every concert that he has attempted to attend, something occurred that prevented him from attending. So, this was his chance to go. We saw the band Paramore (And yes, I know what paramour means). They are a band from Franklin, TN. I did not realize that the tickets I purchased were General Admission. Which means that we were on the floor right in front of the stage. We were approximately 30ft from the stage. There were two opening bands and then Paramore played. People jumped during the concert and it felt like the floor was going to cave in. Paramore did great, but the sound man did not know what he was doing. The sound was not mixed very well. But it was fun and my cousin's first concert. Speaking of concerts, I've been to about ten (10). Including concertos, operas, and rock bands.

On a similar note, I remember listening to some soft rock/pop and Dad asked what the name of the band was. They were called Savage Garden. Dad commented that you cannot judge a band by their name. He also told me one day that the band Barenaked Ladies played on the NBC Morning Show. Mom commented that there was not even a girl in their band.

In one of my previous letters, I mentioned that I have been watching TV shows on the internet. There is one problem in common when watching TV shows on a normal TV or on the internet: The advertisements are still louder than the actual show. Yay.

So, I was ill for two days. Slight fever, aches, chills. I had gastroenteritis; otherwise known as "stomach flu". Although, that name is a misnomer for it does not affect the stomach nor is it influenza. But rather it attacks the cells of the small intestine. I will spare you the details on what happens when your small intestine is damaged but I had to stick to a liquid diet for two weeks and avoid dairy. At least I could eat toast. I believe I contracted this illness due to food poisoning at a local Huddle House.

I find it strange that in winter I wear more dark clothes and in summer I wear lighter clothes. 'Lighter' as in shade, not weight.


Until next time.

I Am Not A Superhero...

...just trying to do little things that might make the world a bit better.

During my life thus far, I will try to help people when it seems safe and within my ability to assist them. When I was in college, if I saw someone with their vehicle's hood open, I would drive by and ask if they needed help. This one particular time, I saw a group of kids trying to push start a manual car. I drove by and said I have some jumper cables if you need some help. They accepted my offer and we got this stranger's jeep up and running.

Another time, I was just getting off work at student orientation. I was walking to my car and this woman came up to me and asked if I had any jumper cables. She mentioned that this was her daughter's car and she did not know how it worked. But I tried starting the car and it was dead. I cannot recall what car she had but I had to pull out the manual to figure out how to open the hood. The lever was not in the usual place or it was unmarked. Nevertheless, she and I had a small conversation about college. Soon her daughter showed up and I recognized her from the orientation. We talked for a while as I worked on the car. To jump her car it was a little tough. Mostly because both our car batteries were on the drivers side and I could not park in front of her due to a sidewalk and drop off. I had to park as close as I could to her to jump the car but we got it up and running. They both thanked me and the mother wanted to give me some money. I stepped back with my hands up "Oh no ma'am, I don't ... " as she shoved the money in my front shirt pocket (I knew I did not like shirts with pockets. Although my Dad liked shirts with pockets) "... but I appreciate it."

My cousin and I were painting the living room this summer. It was a hot summer day and this young man came knocking at the door asking for some tools to work on his truck and some water. I asked if he knew what tools he needed and he was not sure about exact wrench sizes, but he said I could come with him if he was afraid that he was going to steal my tools. I was not sure what to do. The risk of going off with a stranger or the risk of letting him borrow tools that he may not return. So, I took a chance. I gave him a glass of water and grabbed my tools. We only went down the road near the next house where his friend was looking at the engine. I gave him my tool box and I stood by my truck away from them while they worked on their truck. It took them about ten minutes to get their truck running and they asked if they could stop by the house and get more water. They had bottles they gave me and I went inside to fill up their bottles. They thanked me and we had a small chat about what was up the road and how long we have lived here.

At the wonderful world of Wal-Mart, I was at the checkout line while the clerk was bagging my items. As she would rotate the carousel, I would remove my bag and pull open the new bag ready for use. She noticed this and commented that she appreciated me helping her out, how much trouble they have with those bags, and asked if I had worked at a Wal-Mart before. If you are wondering, no, I have never worked at a Wal-Mart.

People are lazy and leave their shopping carts where ever they feel like putting them. If I see a stray cart as I am going into a store, I will grab it and either drop it off at the area where you normally pick up a cart or I will use it myself. And as I leave, if I see a stray cart, I will grab one and take it to the cart return not to mention that I will straighten out the carts and push them together if required. Not only are there lazy people, but there are one-uppers. I saw this guy going around collecting ALL the carts and taking them up to the store. I assumed he was not an employee because he was not wearing an orange vest or any uniform of any kind. However, he did have to chase a cart across the parking lot. I found that humorous.

There was this girl I knew when I attended community college. She was in my sophomore level Chemistry lab. I never really talked to her much until my lab partner and her lab partner dropped out of the class. So, one day when we were in lab, I motioned to her to partner up with me since our original partners went AWOL. She attended a different lecture for Chemistry but we had the same teacher. It was the week of final exams and I had already taken my chemistry final. She mentioned that she had to make a certain grade on the final exam to receive a C in the class so that she can get into nursing school. I told her that I would help her study if she wanted some help.
"You'd help me study even though you've already taken your final exam?" She asked.
"Yes" I replied.
Throwing her arms around me she exclaimed "I love you!"
We exchanged numbers and set aside a time us to meet at the library for the next day.
I remember that she brought animal cookies even though food was not allowed in the library. I knew some tricks about chemistry that she did not know about. I cannot recall how long we studied but her test was the next day.
Two weeks later I received a call from Beka stating that she indeed made a C in chemistry and was accepted into nursing school. Who knows, maybe some day she will be treating me. It is a small world after all.


I live by the "Pay it Forward" mantra.

Just be sure to tell Lois that I'm always around.

Dreams of Parallel Worlds

Do parallel worlds exist. Are the dreams we have when we slumber a peek into a parallel world; or just fragmented memories blended together.

Well, I had a dream last night. About my Dad. But it was where we used to live in Arizona. In our 4000 square foot stucco house that I miss so much. I have had plenty of dreams about that house. But I remember being at that house in Arizona with Dad on his death bed. In this dream (or that world), we never left Arizona. I remember Mom came into my room because Dad wanted to talk to me. I cannot recall exactly what we talked about, but the world I was in was given away as a dream when Dad asked, "How did you react when I died the first time?" I cannot recall what occurred afterward.

Nevertheless, dreams can be a strange phenomena. Whether just fragments of memories, subconscious thoughts, or visions of a parallel world, they will never cease to amaze me.

October 2009 Letter

Well, last time I wrote a monthly e-mail, it was September 19, 2008.  So, it's been over a year.  Far too long, yet it seems like it flew by like a turtle passing a snail in a race.  And yes, I have seen it.

So, here I am trying to restart my monthly letters - October 2009

Anywho,  what has happened in the past year.

Well, in December of 08, we (Mom, my aunt, and I) went to Buenos Aires, Argentina to make a Spanish educational film.  We stayed with aunt's friend.  In short, production was less than productive, buy hey, we learned a lot and we somehow managed to get it filmed.  Although, I have to pull a bunch of rabbits out of my hat to get it to somewhat work.  I am not saying it is terrible, but like I said, we learned a lot from the experience.  I was amazed that it was summer down there.  I knew it was summer because the earth is round and tilts on an axis.  But like with most things, it is more amazing when you experience it first hand.  We did get to sightsee a little bit, but mostly for filming.  I keep meaning to write about my adventure there, but I still have not gotten around to it. 

January 09 I became ill.  I thought I might have caught something in Argetina but it turned out to be Shingles.  Luckily for me, my chicken pox was not that severe and my shingles was mild (on the medical scale of: mild, moderate, severe).  I believe it lasted about a week and a half.  The doctor gave me 3 types of pain pills.  I tried one of the pills, became delirious (one of the side effects) so I quit taking them.  I remember waving at everything and talking to Benny a lot when I took the medication.  I heard that shingles are supposed to be quite painful.  To me it was not that painful, just annoying.  It was difficult to sleep and I did not get a lot of sleep.  I ate soup most of the time and lost 5 pounds.  The shingles were on the left side of my head and neck.  I did research shingles and I know a lot about it.  Hopefully, I will not get them again.

Sometime in the past year, we finally got Grandpa out of our house and back into his house.  I cannot remember all the details of who was taking care of him at the time because no one tells me what is going on.  Sometime in there he broke his hip simply by lifting his leg to put his shoe on.  Surgery went well, but he did develop a staff infection.  He recovered from that and eventually Mom's brother Nathan is currently taking care of him.

Early July we started fixing up the house.  Painting it and cleaning it.  I tell you what, you never really know how dirty your house is until you really really clean it.  I cleaned the windows here and the rag I was using was just back as night!  I believe since cleaning the windows, the house is 45% brighter inside, haha.  We were going to paint all the rooms a white with a hint of blue.  However, my aunt had a better idea to coordinate colours and what not.  I have read opinions on what color you should paint your walls when you want to sell your house.  Some say plain white, some say coordinate colours.  Me, I am just the worker.  I will paint it striped if you want. Poka-dots even.  As long as it sells, I did my job.  The main floor is a type of pink (burnt rose or something), front bedroom is a type of off white with blue tint, master bedroom is a mint green, and upstairs is a yellow.  All colours a pastel mind you.  It looks pretty good.  I tell you what though, I first started painting with a drop cloth and lots of taping things.  I have excelled where I only need to tape the baseboards and I do not have to use a drop cloth.  But I still put one down where I am working "just in case".  The first room I painted took about 2 to 3 hours.  Now, take that same size room and I can paint it in about 1.5.  But most of everything, we have been doing ourselves with help from my aunt and her son.  We have had some paid help also, some friends from the fair to do outside work.  Mom told me I would not have to do any outside work, but the weather is too nice not to because fall is here.  The house is already on the market, but not being shown because my big room upstairs is not done.  Hopefully it will be done by next week.  Then we can tidy up the living areas a wee bit more and get it ready for show.

Last month, I attended the Travel Channel Academy.  It was a 4 day film 'bootcamp'.  I went in there expecting not to learn much about editing.  I did learn a few new tips about editing and filming, but what I found value in the most was how to make a story.  Everything was based on short-form production.  It was tough but I learned some things.  Another thing is that we have access to the Travel Channel where we can sell them our short videos.  I had some ideas in my head on what to film while I was there, but did not write them down so I have to re-idea them again.  BAH.  On that note, I had to get a new computer to go to the academy.  Which meant that Mom got a new computer.  If you do not know, I use Apple so Mom got my old Apple Computer.  We bought Parallels with it and another Windows XP disc.  Which means that I can use Windows XP on an Apple Computer.  Parallels integrates XP within OS X (OSX is Apple's operating system whereas Windows XP is Microsoft's operating system).  I am going to stop there in case I have already gone over your head.  lol  So, my new computer is a Macbook Pro.  It is a laptop that is quite powerful and is considered a desktop replacement.  Ever since I have had it, my old G5 desktop has not been used much [sad face], haha.

And that is about all I can think of.  Yup, I ended the previous sentence in a preposition.  How would I reword that not to end it in a preposition.  Not know, do I.  Anyway, as for me, this month, I need to get my things in order to apply to grad schools, take the GRE test, and contact my contacts to get recommendation letters.  SIGH.  I hope to pursue a Master's in Film so someday I can make a documentary about my great-great-great-great Grandfather Chief Menawa who fought Andrew Jackson in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. Whew!  that was a long sentence.  Let me catch my breath.

Anywho, I have a blog if you are interested in reading it.  It is at tangentdave.blogspot.com.  I will continue to write these monthly letters, but the blog will have stuff in between.  Oh, you can even view my projects that I did at the Travel Channel Academy at my blog.  They are in there somewhere. 

Until next time

TCA VLogs

So, since I didn't make a vlog (Video Web Log) everyday like I wanted to, I thought I would talk about my days in four different videos. Enjoy.

Summary



TCA in DC - Day One


TCA in DC - Day Two


TCA in DC- Day Three


TCA in DC - Day Four


TCA Project One


TCA Project Two



Rosenblum's Blog
A link about TCA. I am actually in this picture: http://www.rosenblumtv.com/?p=3618

A link to a video that has our group's trainer: http://www.rosenblumtv.com/?p=3625

It's been a fun few days, but I am ready to return home.

TCA in DC - Day One

Yeah, so I meant to make two videos per day about my experience here at TCA. However, being out 11 to 12 hours can wear you out.

Day 1

The president and general manager of the Travel Channel Academy spoke to us. We had a small breakfast where we mingled with all the students and employees.

It turns out that all Travel Channel Employees are required to take the TCA. In our group, one of the employees are attending with us.

The manager of TCA welcomed us, Arthur, and we had small introductions and then Michael Rosenblum spoke to us. He basically told us if you know anything about filmmaking, forget it. He wanted all of us to start at the same level. So, everything I thought I knew, I had to throw out. It was tough.

But he basically wanted us to make videos the way he wanted them to be made. I cannot go into the details because that is what I paid for. If you wanna know what they were, sign up and attend the academy. Haha.

By noon, we were sent out to apply what we learned that morning. It was tough. We had to go somewhere that would let us film. I wanted to film a cobbler but I know nothing about DC. I probably could've asked, but I wandered around to places that I thought was interesting to film. I couldn't find anything.

For lunch I ate at some Italian shop and had a melt. It was good. I try to eat new things when I go out away from home.

So, I came back with nothing and watched some of the raw video. We watched everyone's raw video and Michael told us if it was good or not. I, and three others, were sent back out to re-film. Luckily, a protest was going on across the street and I filmed that. After we watched everyone's raw video, that was it for the night.

Someone did find a cobbler to film. Other's filmed a bakery, chocolate store, a butcher, cooks in a kitchen, etc. Basically, it was something with action, usually a person working with their hands.

I was quite tired when I came back to the hotel that night.

TCA in DC - Day 3

Yeah, so, I meant to make a vlog yesterday and the day before. But last night, I got back to the hotel to rest for a minute...and well, that minute turned into five hours. So, I woke up at 1 am to do some research on the web (on what to film today), and then went back to bed to wake up around 0630. I had my usual scrambled eggs and two pancakes this morning.

Today we are filming a character piece. More on that and the previous days coming soon. I promise!

TCA in DC - Day 1

Thursday was an interesting day. I was quite tired yesterday and I slept in and extra hour today. I will post an entry tonight when I get back. I promise! Today it is supposed to rain, but at least we will be inside all day working on the computers.

TCA in DC - Morning Day 1

I find it annoying that you can hear me breathe in... I'll switch mics next time...maybe.

Off into the city I go...or rather across the street.

Oh, and I was more like facing South East instead of South.

See the hotel here: http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=38.960452~-77.084909&style=h&lvl=18&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&sp=Point.qgt2108k8myn_Hotel____&encType=1

TCA in DC - Arrival

How can they put a year of film school into four days? Should have I gone to a two week film camp instead?

Keep checking my page for updates and see how this goes!

My First Car

Everyone should remember their first car. However, for me, how I received my first car is quite memorable...well, for me at least. I have had three cars in my life so far and each one has a story on how I received them.

I cannot recall the date exactly, but it was Spring Semester of 2001; my sophomore year of high school. According to the creation date of photos that I have of the car, it had to be before March 2001. I believe that my Dad told me to research a vehicle that I would like to have. I remember we were looking at cars on the internet. I can recall that I told him "I don't want a Mustang, there is too many of them." (Little did I know that there are many Eclipses on the road) Mom would not let me get a red car due to the myth that they receive more tickets or appear that their velocity is faster than its true speed. I remember I said I wanted a moonroof and two doors but just about any color would do. At first I wanted a Ford Probe but they ceased production in 1997 and Dad wanted to get a brand spanking new car (where did the phrase 'brand spanking new' come from, I do not know).

I did not really think about a car for the next few days (maybe weeks) but I remember my Mom picked me up from school one day in the big brown van that we had. She told me that she had to stop by the office because she had to meet a client. At that time Mom and Dad had a store. Mom operated Native American Craft store and Dad ran a Tax Return business (in the same building). Dad was at the store and I cannot remember how long the wait was, but I was standing at the counter watching the traffic outside the window. Two cars pulled up. One was a Tampa Blue Pearl Mitsubishi Eclipse GS (2.4 liter, 4 cylinder, 150hp). "Dad, that's the car we looked at on-line!" I exclaimed. I think Dad said "Yes, and it's yours."

I ran outside and the dealer got out and I asked him if I could sit in it. He told me it is yours so go ahead. He went inside to talk to Dad and the other car was the dealers wife to take him back to the city.

Later I found out that Dad bought the car sight unseen and the dealer delivered it from the big city that was about 30 miles away. He did everything via the telephone and fax machine. It is amazing what good credit does for you. I did not get to drive the car home that day. It took a couple of weeks before Mom let me drive alone. The first time I drove alone was to go to the grocery store to get groceries. Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" came on the radio while I drove to the store. It was not helpful, haha.

I named my car Kalisto; an alternate spelling of Callisto. If you are into astronomy, you will know that Callisto is a moon of Jupiter; if you are not into astronomy, then you learned something new today. Callisto was also a nyph in Greek mythology.

I loved that car. It will always have a place in my heart.

When do you feel Old?

Last week I attended a play at my old high school. The only people I really knew was the drama teacher and her daughter. I did see my friends mother and brother and some friends of my parents. But I felt old and out of place. The play was amazing though! It was a mix of crime and random comedy. If you like Family Guy you would have enjoyed the play. The play was: "Employee's Must Wash Hands Before...Murder" and a spoof off of Cold Case Files relating to the making of the play.

Then the next day, I attended my friends wedding. I have known her since middle school. It was like a mini reunion. Of course every wedding that I have been to I have worked at it. I am always taking pictures, taking video, or even a groomsmen in a wedding. I took pictures for two of my friends. But the bride was so beautiful. It was a simple wedding but an elegant one. I saw many friends from high school. In particular, I spoke to one of my friends who was married and had a baby. It does not seem like we are old enough to be married and have kids. Another one of my friends was to receive her Master's degree the following day. Has time passed by that fast. We are adults but I will forever feel like a kid but with more responsibilities.

I felt old attending that play but I feel like we are not old enough to have two degrees, be married, and have kids...

Repeating Dream Themes

(Above Pic: Ret USAF Sr.MSGT Dad, Lt Col Mom, and son)

For the past few days I have had repeating dreams of a possible future career path. I am not saying that I am having prophetic dreams; I am trying to say that I have had dreams of what I would like to do in the future. Why did not I say that in the first place, I do not know. LOL.

Nevertheless, I had a dream that I was at some place with a bunch of people and pizza. The people were from the Air Force and I was with a bunch of recruits. My Mom was there and the person in charge (I assume a brigadier general) asked my Mom some question. I do not remember what the question was but the general gave me the rank of 1st Lieutenant. Normally upon completion of Officer Training School, you earn the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. So, I assume my dream took place at the end of OTS.

Then I had a dream that I was at the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station). All I remember was sitting there talking to a woman.

I still would love to wear that Uniform like my Mom and Dad before me and to serve this country.


In the fall I will be busy busy busy applying for the two possible career paths that I desire to undertake. I (1) desire to go to film school and (2) to serve in the United States Air Force. Which ever one grants me opportunity first, I will take. But what if I am accepted to a Film School and the AF. I will not know what to do until I am in that situation.

I have a book that I have been reading. It is called Film School Confidential: Take 2. It discusses several graduate film schools and comments on their programs. I plan to choose five schools and apply to three. So far a few that interest me are in Montana, Florida, and Massachusetts. In the future, I will discuss my choices.

Therefore, in the fall, there will be a lot of work to do. I have to take the GRE and do all the application requirements for the schools (i.e. Recommendation letters, personal statement, transcripts, portfolios, resumes, etc). For the AF, I will probably have to go to MEPS again for a medical prescreen and then another time for a medical wavier (more on that later).

In the mean time, I am editing a film, going through boxes in the basement, getting back in shape, and just living it one day at a time.

Spring Cleaning

Photo caption: Dad and I, err mostly Dad, putting together my Knight Rider Kitt car.

Here lately I have been going through everything in the house. I have started with my stuff; My toys and stuff in my room. This includes hard drives; I am cleaning them up and organizing the data. I have found many old letters of the past. It seems like yesterday but it was so long ago. I have found letters from the high school years and I could probably write a drama from them. I have found letters from old crushes and letters from friends. It is amazing how time flies by. My senior and junior year prom dates are now married (not to each other) and have kids and a girl I dated is married with kids.

I never realized how much stuff I have until I start going through it all. For the most part, I am cataloging everything I put into a box. So far I have eleven boxes of old toys. I want to sell them but not until I am in my 50's.

It is strange to see pictures of my old high school classmates married and with kids. I still feel like we are still kids. I will always feel like a kid. Even when I am an old man, I will still be a kid. The truth is, we are all kids. No matter how old we are, how much responsibility we have, or what our job is, we will always be a kid. Or at least, that is how I feel about it. My Dad was a big kid. I enjoyed seeing him with his friends just laughing and having a good time. I hope he is with his mother, father, and brother, Jerome, having a ball.

Dreams and Such

Every now of then I will have dreams of my Dad. I have had dreams of him for the past two nights.

The first one was me at graduation. My Dad did not get to see me graduate from college. At least in this level of consciousness...in this realm...in this physical world. Perhaps he did watch me in some other dimension, but I do not know. Nevertheless, he did not get to see me graduate in the world that I am living in. But in my dream, he was there in a wheelchair. Graduation took place at a football field and I think I was a graduate student about to get my Master's Degree. I remember wearing an academic hood. Perhaps in another life this took place, if you believe that sort of thing.

The second dream was Steven (my cousin) and I moving into an apt/rent-a-house for college. I remember Mom and Dad helping us move in. I remember the layout of the house so distinctly; I could draw the floor plans on paper if I wanted to.

A somewhat partial third dream I had was that Mom and I were overseas (perhaps in Argentina) and I remember calling home to Dad to say we made it there safely.

...so that I can feel the rain...

Have you ever seen the rain in slow motion. Raindrops are almost perfect spheres and some are perfect spheres.


Every now and then, something will remind me of my Dad. I intend to do the best I can to remember it and write it down so that hopefully I will remember it for as long as my mind is capable of memory.

Today strong lightning storms swept across the state. I remember Dad and I used to sit and watch the lightning shows during thunderstorms; especially if the power went out. I remember in Arizona the lightning shows were beautiful. The lightning was full of color and lit the sky like day. Once I even saw ball lightning during a storm.


Title song reference: Gravedigger by Dave Matthews

About My Blog and More About Me

This Web-blog is mostly for me. It is a place where I desire to share some of my inner thoughts and experiences. They will consist of random thoughts, rants, what I think about, and things that happen in my life. I created this for me. Not to entertain, not to please, and not because someone asked me to. This will help me with my writing skills. It may not be in proper English most of the time, but I desire to make my Blogs understandable at the least. Obviously I do have my own personal journal, or diary, apart from this. But this one, on this world wide web, I do desire to share. And if you know me, at least you can keep up with what is going on in my life. So, enjoy and maybe you can view my life vicariously though me.

So here’s a short bio of me: Dave

I was born in the Philippines and adopted into a United States Air Force Family. By blood I am Filipino; by family I am Native American of the Muskogee Tribe and Caucasian. I graduated #8 in my high school class (technically 18th b/c we had 9 valedictorians and 1 salutatorian … it was a weird high school). I graduated college with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. I am currently trying to figure out my next step. A job? Air Force? Graduate school? Famous fedora-sporting-archeologist? Tuxedo wearing secret agent man?

I can play the guitar, bass, and drums. I used to play the piano but not anymore. But I am trying to learn the violin/fiddle. The interesting thing is that I taught myself how to play all those instruments. I’ve written and recorded a few songs, but nothing worthy of a 1 hit wonder. I’ve worked with video since 1996 and I’ve enjoyed it ever since. I’m a MAC enthusiast first then PC. I have a first degree black belt in UFAF and a first decided black belt in ITA. I have some Kung Fu (Dr. Black's Tang Shou Tao) experience; just enough to compel me to continue training again someday.

…and that’s about all I can think about mentioning…

So start reading my posts and live vicariously! P.S. I (try to) write monthly letters to my friends and I post them here as well. There is a link to them all under the "Links of Interest" to the left. Enjoy!

My First Post

My first post (here on blogspot/blogger). Well, it is about time I get back to blogging/vlogging.

Spring is in the air here in the lovely South! I brag about the weather to my New England acquaintances. They are jealous.

My blog will consist of whatever I want it to consist of. Probably random thoughts, what I am up to, and old memories of the days of old.

I will probably post some old posts from my old blog from Wordpress. I liked Wordpress and all, but I have to rent a server or keep my server on 24/7. Truthfully, blogspot is much easier, costs nothing, and it was easy to set up since I have a Google Mail account. I just cannot make multiple tabs for pages...or at least I have not figured out how.

By the way, if you desire to get my blog in your e-mail, simply register in the box on the upper left-hand (<----) corner (if I can get it working...at the moment it is not).

(Picture taken by me at Daytona Beach, FL)