Nulledge.net

Three months into 2008 and I’m already behind. Wow that was fast. At least one of the things I can be glad about is the fact that I’m not emo and not in Mexico. With the crazy amount of Anti-Emo rioting going on I’m scared for a few of my friends going down there – even if it is just to Tijuana.

I guess it’s not as bad as that poor Goth girl getting beaten to death by 2 guys simply because she was Goth. Wow, I think it was a lot saner when kids were killing each other over gang affiliations, but now simply out of social groupings I think we’re beginning to have issues here. I can only expect the hipsters to get involved into the fight soon. They’ll hit you with their 6 dollar coffee’s – not that there’s anything wrong with a six dollar cup of coffee (I love coffee).

And as I go back to my 3 dollar Americano, I leave you with this thought – hug a goth person today, it’ll probably brighten up their lives, who knows, maybe they’ll switch to being Emo instead of Goth.

Ahh Jericho, we hardly knew you. Well, sad to say another one of the few shows I watch on television has been canceled. I don’t watch much television these days. The few shows I did enjoy were either canceled or have ended their runs. I can never take Fox seriously now simply because they cancel every show I get into and keep the shows that dumb down Americans – hooray for reality television!

My problem lately has been a lack of things to say. I take it back – a lack of anything new to say. I could write about my nostalgia of an easier, more simple time but that I’ve said ad nauseam. I try to write about things that interest me, things I read in the news or things that pop into my head but I fear that I’m losing something in the translation. I’ve become a bad story teller and I’ve lost my way with words. I forget I’m writing for an audience and start writing simply the things that come into my head. And I think that methodology is beginning to fail me. I’ve lost touch with the way my life was supposed to work.

Perhaps it’s many things – the newness of it all is still settling in. I’m disconcerted with the distance that I’m feeling with my friends and family but at the same trying to find a place in my life that can accommodate it all. I’m putting things aside in the hopes of a different future. Of a future that will help me grow out of the things that haunt my past. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to give up all of the things of my past, I just need to find a way to let my past meet my future and become something of a more solid present. But in the end who am I to say what I’m doing is right. I will probably look back at this a year from now and laugh at my own stupidity. I mean, what else can I do “… get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?”.

A roadtrip is a nice way to get away from it all for a period of time.  Last week a friend of mine, Arman, got into USC School of Accounting and decided it would be a good time to take a roadtrip.  Our plan of escape, hop in his car and head east towards Arizona.  Our visit included a visit to meteor crater and a visit to Arizona’s Petrified Wood Forrest.

I am pleased to say that his car thoroughly smelled like cigarettes after the trip and that the biggest surprise to us that there was  snow in Arizona – who knew?  I thought Arizona was a desolate wasteland that the rest of the country had forgotten.  I was mistaken.  So along with the Grand Canyon, Arizona actually has something worth visiting, even if the way there was plagued with flat barren land.

Unfortunately for us, Arizona was in the middle of a cold spell and cold, strong, gusty winds were present the entire trip.  1234 miles later and we’re back in LA and back to the grind.  Whoo Hoo.  To those who didn’t go, be glad – if the wind didn’t get you, our farts would have.

The roadtrip is a favorite experience of mine.  To me, the journey is sometimes more important than the destination.  It gives people a chance to bond all the while experiencing America at it’s finest.  I love stopping at rest stops along the way and comparing them to other rest area’s that I’ve been to.  I love stocking up on beef jerky and drinking energy drinks to keep me awake as I drive.  While this roadtrip was nowhere near as long or as spectacular as my “Sponge Bob Visits America” roadtrip, I must say it was still quite enjoyable.  Here’s to seeing you on the next roadtrip…

There’s a strong wind blowing through the San Fernando Valley tonight. I’m feeling nostalgic tonight as I prepare this website to be something more than it is now. Little known fact – way back in the day (around 1999 – 2000) me and a group of friends got together to write a newsletter titled the Vacuum Diagrams. The newsletter was named after a Stephen Baxter book which inspired me to create something that I hoped would allow those of my friends moving out to college to maintain a semblance of connection to the place they once called home. In many ways, this website serves to be a resurrection of that, a place to post news, musings, stupid little tidbits of information that randomly pop into my mind, and the occasional informative article.

Ahh, those were the days. Staying up late trying to come up with something to say. Getting on Michelle and Helen’s ass to write me an article before I sent out the newsletter bi-weekly. It had a good run, 85 issues 50+ subscribers – most of which weren’t even people I knew. It was sad to see it go. What started out as a way to ship off news to far flung friends became something more. A way for 3 friends (4 if you weren’t in the joke) to say something about their lives, their hopes, and their ambitions. It holds a fond place in my heart.

So, to honour the memory of VD I’ve decided to revive a section of the newsletter here on my blog. The section is called “In The Corner”. It’s basically a collection of random musings that I think of and post. There will be no explanation and if it makes sense even better. It’s just about saying something that mostly for me, but you get to read it too. Eight years later and at least Xanthros lives on, if not in newsletter form, at least on this blog. I hope you decide I’m worth reading and I hope while you’re here you find something worthwhile.

BTW: If you are interested in receiving the entire set of the Vacuum Diagrams contact me. I’ll hook it up.