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[28 Jul 2009|05:08pm] |
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So my summer has been going pretty good. When I first came back from Widener I thought it would be tough for me to get readjusted to life at home, but I've pretty much adapted to where I am. I work a lot, which is good because I'm making a lot of money. I don't work a lot in the sense that I work every day, because I work about 3 days a week, but I work 8 or 9 hour shifts every time, which is boring but it brings in the Benjamins.
Next year I'm living in an off campus house with three guys who lived on my floor last year. It's a good financial move, because it's cheaper to live off campus than it is to have room and board, so overall I'll have to pay back less money, which is good because Widener is pretty damn expensive. The only thing that sucks is I have to pay a rent check every month, but I've been saving a lot of money up over the summer and I'm pretty confident that as long as I have a budget I'll be fine. I'm going to try to either get an on campus job or a job somewhere in Chester, but even if I can't, I'll still be alright overall. It's just going to be weird, last year I was spending a lot of money, but this year I'm going to have to think about purchases.
I broke my phone recently, which was devastating. Luckily I have ATT, which has a little loophole called "buy a go phone and switch sim cards". The only problem is I went from having an awesome 3g top of the line semi-smart phone to having a $30 Nokia made for drug dealers and old people. It gets the job done though, it makes all my calls, sends and receives texts, and has a really good battery life all things considered. It's actually a little rustic using it, makes me feel all hipster inside.
I've been playing hockey lately with Matty Z. I never really played hockey before, certainly not ice hockey, but I've always had a bunch of equipment that I got from work. I think it's cool because I have someone to play with, and Matty was one of my good friends in high school so it's kind of a throw back to those times.
Most of the other shit in my life is just minor that would make more sense if I updated more often. Maybe I'll start doing that. Maybe.
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| Lame Friday |
[30 Jan 2009|11:42pm] |
This is the first Friday at Widener since half way through September that I didn't go out and party. Most of my friends either play Lax or run Track, and both have early practice tomorrow, so they all went to movie nights for their respective sports. Nik went home, and Brian went out with his girlfriend. Jason doesn't like the frats, and I'm not going out by myself.
It's funny, because a year ago spending a Friday playing Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe would have been completely normal. Now it's...boring. And I think that's okay. Right?
I'm contemplating changing my major from Creative Writing to Communications with a minor in Radio.
Today was Wing Bowl, but I didn't get to go. It was really awesome last year.
I'm only taking four classes this semester. I wish I took five. All of my classes are easy.
I miss some people from High School. Sometimes I wonder if people ever think about me. I've realized recently that I didn't make big enough of an impact on people in High School.
Sometimes I miss sitting around playing Halo 3 until 1 am with Matt on a Saturday. Sometimes I miss sitting around on a Thursday playing Halo from 3pm-7pm.
I think I've figured it out. I miss my friends. I've changed a lot in the last 4 or so months. A lot more than I expected to. I haven't picked up any negative traits - I don't abuse drugs, I'm not an alcoholic...for all intents and purposes, I'm the same guy I was when I graduated. I just don't talk to my friends, and it makes me feel guilty, because I feel like I'm the one that did the most changing. Like, if I went to county, I would still be friends with all my high school friends, and my life would be essentially unchanged. But because I went away, met a ton of new people, and made new friends, I messed up.
It's just sad. You know? It's like I miss High School. I don't know why. It wasn't fun. But it's like...I knew who I was. I guess I'm just having the typical Freshman identity crisis.
I had the last.fm Blink 182 channel on for 7 hours today. Internet Radio ftw.
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| Year in Review |
[04 Jan 2009|05:18pm] |
At the begining of last year, I made a post detailing a few big things that I wanted to get in 2008.
Mission Accomplished:
1. Rock Band Bundle for Xbox360 - I ended up getting this on on Easter sunday. Me and Corey split it. I love it, it was an awesome purchase, but at the same time, I have no desire to get Rock Band 2 over Guitar Hero: World Tour
2. Eagles Jersey - I kind of cheated out on this one; I got one of those non-authentic replicas from Foreman Mills. Even worse, it was Omar Gaither, who doesn't play anymore. But it's okay, because I like it, and it's black, which always looks so snazzy. I want another one of these, though; a green or white Asante Samuel.
Mission Failed:
3. Phillies Sunday Alternate Jersey - I ended up getting a regular red-shirt jersey for Christmas. It's Chase Utley. I do still want to get one of these in the upcoming year, maybe. Also, as a side note, I didn't get a alternate hat, but I did get a red World Series patch one, and one of the Red White and Blue flag hats.
4. Futurama - The thing about this is, I was all set to get Futurama on DVD, but then I found a whole new shows; Scrubs, which is now by far my favorite show. I have 4 seasons, which is equal to a full Futurama DVD set. So, in a way, I got this. Kind of.
5. A decent Car Audio Head Unit - When i wrote this list, I thought for sure I was going to CCC. since I go into Widener, there's no reason for a head unit, because I barely drive.
So, there it is. I know, I only got two of the things on my list, but maybe 2009 will keep me closer to my goal.
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| Happy New Year |
[04 Jan 2009|03:29pm] |
I'm seriously considering getting a new iPod with my tax return this year.
Here's my current predicament; last year, my iPod, a 30gb video, started to have a noticeably shorter battery life than it did before. I decided to invest in a 30gb white Zune. For those of you who are out of the loop, the Zune is Microsoft's mp3 player. I got one for several reasons; I had money to blow, I wanted an mp3 player to take to school and work, because if I lost it or it got stolen, it wouldn't have the sentimental value that my iPod does, and it has a cool cross connection with the Xbox 360. Overall, it just seemed like a purchase that was worth it.
I actually had a problem before it even got to my house. I ordered it from staples.com, because it was on sale for $129.99, which i thought was an awesome price. Well, the problem was a few days after I ordered it, it still hadn't come in. Hmm, weird. A few weeks passed, nothing. I finally called a support system who told me it was gone, stolen off of the truck. I had to fill out a re-order form. As an interesting side note, they never found the guy whole stole it.
Anyway, the Zune finally came, and I loaded the terrible software onto my computer and what the fuck. The thing scanned my whole system and started pulling songs off of my external hard-drive. Shit that I never listened to was being poured onto my Zune. all said and done, it was something like 67gb worth of stuff on my media player. I managed to push that down to about 20gb, and I synced my Zune. Awesome.
Maybe it's just my Zune, like it's defective or something, but I always, always have problems with it locking up after a song is done. It only happens if I pick another song to play right after the last song ends, but once it locks up, there's nothing I can do. I have to wait for the battery to die.
Not to mention, iTunes is so much better than the Zune software. Despite what the recent commcercial may make you think, the Zune software is buggy as hell, annoying, and it takes a lot of CPU to run it. Also, for some weird reason, not matter what esle is running, I always have slowdown when I try to edit songs. Always.
So yeah, I've decided to give my Zune to Corey, who's iPod's battery is pretty much dead. I hope he likes it more than me. Until I get my tax return, I'm going to be using my 30gb iPod, but hopefully I get enough money to buy a new iPod. And I'll be getting one of the classic ones, not those touch BS ones.
I also had a problem updating the firmware the first time I synced, and, as a result, I couldn't do the whole social exchange that the Zune seems to pride itself on. It took me a long time to update the firmware, and to be honest, I don't know if it even connects now.
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| I am not delirious |
[07 Aug 2008|01:40am] |
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I've decided that, since I'm going to college with creative writing as my major, I should start writing in this thing again, just so I can get the hang of it. So without further ado, my attempt to catch everyone up on my life.
On the home front, I got NCAA 09 about a month ago. I'm really loving it, mostly because it;s my first NCAA game since I think 05 on the Gamecube. I nearly have all of the achievements. I kind of want to get all of them, but I also want to play the game for fun, the way it was meant to be played. I'm currently in a MAC online Dynasty with Corey and a couple people from GameFAQs. I'm Ohio, a terrible team. But hey, you can't win all of them. I also beat Call of Duty 4 right when school let out. It was a fucking awesome game. It was one of the best stories I've ever played through. I didn't really like the online play that much. On the same token, I'm pretty burnt out on Halo 3. I played way too much of it, to the point where I can't stand it anymore. I also beat God of War: Chains of Olympus about two weeks ago. I mostly played it because I hadn't touched my PSP in quite some time, so I felt a little bad and decided to fire up whatever game I had. It was pretty good, very short though, and it really made me want to play the other God of War games. Too bad they're only on the PS3. Speaking of the PS3, I keep getting closer and closer to buying one. I know, I know, I already have a 360 and a PS3 is pointless other than a few titles, but damn. I feel like I want it for all the wrong reasons, though. I wouldn't get Metal Gear Solid, but I would get Haze. See what I mean? Backards. I'm pretty sure that wraps things up in the video game department.
I saw The Dark Knight recently, and I've really gotta give it to Heath Ledger. That was a hell of a performance. I didn't really like the whole Harvey Two Face thing, not because it was handled poorly or anything, but more because it was too much to follow. Joker just totally stole the show. I've never seen the 89 Batman, but there is just no way that Jacky N's Joker was anywhere near as good as Heath's. And I'm not just saying that because he passed away, although that is a shame because he would of made some awesome movies.
Last week my cousin Jake came to visit. By now I'm sure you all know who Jake is, but for a little reference, he's my cousin who used to live in Maryland but moved to Nebraska and is now moving to Tennesse. He's one chill mother fucker, though, and me and him get along like two peas in a pod, you know, without the raging homosexuality that peas in a pod share.
Anyway, we did a lot of cool things. From the top, we played tennis the first night that he was here. Corey's girlfriend, Sara, joined us. She's like some kind of tennis pro or something, so it was pretty unbalanced. But whatever, I still had fun. The next day we took the train into Philadelphia and went to the Philadelphia soul parade. It was nothing short of a joke, although in retrospect I guess I should have seen that coming since the sport is pretty much a joke in of itself. After we watched a few guys go by in a giant us, we walked to Reading Terminal Market and got milkshakes from this Amish places. The next day we went to Training Camp.
Okay, a little back story on this on. Corey works for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he was able to get a few fee passes for Training Camp. We went, saw practice, had a good time, the whole nine yards, but then afterward we got to go to a VIP tent and had a free lunch with a few players and Swoop, the Eagles mascot. Well, no players came to our tent, but it as still pretty cool.
Friday night I had work, but Jake came with me and we skate guarded. Nothing serious happened, a few kids fell but hey, that's life. He ended up staying until 3am on Sunday (Saturday Night). It was an awesome visit, I just wished we had Phillies tickets or something.
Speaking of Phillies, I got a new fitted hat, my first one in a long time. It's the red, white, and blue hats that the phillies wore on the fourth of july.
On the work front, we're painting just about everything that has brick on it. Personally, I hate painting. I mean, I don't think that there is anyone out there that likes to do it, other than artists. It's hot, it smells, and it's just not a good time. However, unlike the time I painted our house before junior prom, this time I am getting paid. I noticed that getting paid suddenly makes things a lot easier to do. Like chipping ice, or changing trash cans. It's all good as long as my bank account gets some green.
I've been trying to keep in touch with as many people as I can. So far it's been kind of hite or miss. I'm still really cool with Matt though. I make it a conscience effort to hang out with him once a week. Mostly we play hockey. It's fun.
It's 2:40am and I have work at 9. FUCK.
~Derek
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| I hate research projects |
[26 May 2008|11:30pm] |
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Why am I up at 11:30 pm on a school night?
Well, as much as I'd love to have an awesome story like, yeah, I just got back from a wicked ass party/barbecue/parade, the truth is I did all of nothing on Memorial Day and it has come back to bite me in the ass as I now how to do a research paper until what seems to be 1am.
"Well Derek, why aren't you doing your paper? Why are you writing in your Livejournal?"
Other than the pre-established "I only write in this thing when I have other boring work to do that I have to type up" law, I really need a break from writing like I'm a robot.
I hate research papers. They have no heart, no soul. It's all more or less one giant Frankensteinish monster made up of 1 part your words and 5 parts other peoples words.
SO. BORING.
I hate these stupid things. Serious update later in the week.
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| 2008 |
[18 Mar 2008|10:38pm] |
Once again, I'm watching TV and on the internet instead of doing my homework. And by homework, I mean a project. And by a project, I mean a project I'm handing in late. Oh well. I am definitely suffering from a strong bout of Senorietis. This one is Anatomy though, and not Creative Writing.
Wow, been a long while since I last updated. Let's see, what's the most important things happening in my life...
Well, i was sick for almost all last week. It was a sinus infection, which sucked because I had just gotten over a cold. I'm feeling a lot better now, though, thankfully. While I was sick I missed a trip to Rowan with the concert band. I really didn't want to go, so it was a bit of karma, I guess. I heard it was whack though.
Work has been going really good lately. I've been making some decent money, mostly because I've become the main scorekeeper. It's not a big deal, to score keep, specifically since I know how to do it now. Unfortunately, last weekend was the last big tournament we're having until June, which means no extra money, which means my checks are going to probably drop back down =(. But I'm not really complaining. With the season ending, it means I'm going to get to do lots of things that we couldn't get around to during the season. Like painting, and repairing glass. Maybe I'll learn to be a driver.
School had been pretty lame lately. I Have a problem with each one of my classes that make it seem...less fun. Like take, for example, Creative Writing. My teacher is probably the most down to Earth teacher I have this year, but still, she has a lot of class favorites, which isn't so bad when you're one of them, but I am not. So it's annoying when she pays more attention to other people, work wise, and doesn't really help me out. But oh well. My favorite class...doesn't really exist. I don't have a class that I look forward to every day, which is lame because this is the first year that happened.
I guess I'm just ready to graduate, even though I'm probably just going to work at the skate zone and go to county. I'm really looking forward to having freedom in my life. I know it's famous last words, that you're supposed to cherish your high school years, but for real, it's like, enough is enough. I wonder if I would feel different if I didn't hate my school so much...
The Phillies were on TV yesterday, it was awesome. i was watching them at work and talking to my manager Jason about how we both came it at the same time, around the time the Phillies ended. It's weird that I've worked at the Skate Zone for 6 months now. Time sure does fly.
I've started to play Mass Effect again recently, a game I got for Christmas and then sort of dropped because I got Halo 3. I only started Mass Effect again because I didn't want to be one of "those guys", the guys who only play Halo 3 online. Kind of like only playing Madden. So I started over in Mass Effect and it's such a fun game. I downloaded the DLC today and played through it. I love the whole Paragon/Renegade thing. I started with the idea of being an asshole renegade but somehow I've got a shitload more Paragon points so I think I'm just going to stick with that. I'm playing as a soldier, but I think I'm going to use a biotic on my next run through.
Let's see...well, it's official that Jake is coming out next summer. Awesome.
That's pretty much it. First update of 08 rofl.
~Derek
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| Upcoming |
[31 Dec 2007|12:58pm] |
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As I sit here, not doing my homework, I've been thinking about things. These are the five "big" things I plan on buying in 2008. How many will I actually get? Only time will tell.
1. Rock Band Bundle for Xbox360 - I mean, Guitar Hero is awesome, so by that token, I'm sure that Rock Band is awesome. Plus, it's like, the most social game ever.
2. Eagles Jersey - This isn't even that big of a thing, honestly, because I have some already, but they're all old players who aren't even on the team anymore. I want a nice, replica, green Eagles jersey. I have a time frame on this one: I want it by August, for training camp.
3. Phillies Sunday Alternate Jersey - Yeah, they sucked me right in.
Check this out! It looks awesome! I think I'll get a Cole Hamels or a blank one. I want this one before June, which is very do-able. I'm also on the fence about getting a fitted version of the hat.
4. Futurama - The complete series on DVD. It's not that hard to find them, there's four volumes, and I really want them. This'll probably be the second thing I get, after Rock Band.
5. A decent Car Audio Head Unit - One that has an aux jack so i could plug in my iPod. I would honestly like to get this before June so I could have it for any summer trips I take. I don't want anything really flashy, just something nice that I can put in there.
So there you have it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to play Mass Effect.
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| Christmas break |
[30 Dec 2007|03:23pm] |
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Well let's see, life has been pretty cool lately.
Work is seriously taking up a lot of my free time. Not that I'm complaining though, because I am bringing in a lot more money than I've ever made in my entire life. In fact, I can't believe I didn't mention this earlier, I FINALLY got my Xbox 360 Elite. Finally, after several, several years of saving up to get a Xbox, I finally came through. Sure, it was a generation late and all, but hey. I'm pretty excited about it. I got the Holiday Bundle, which came with Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Forza Two. The only bad thing is the games are packaged together in a single box. If they weren't I would probably trade in Forza, because I don't really like racing games, but I digress. Marvel, well, I did beat on the PSP. Maybe I'll try to unlock all of the achievements. It's a lot of work thought, and I doubt I'll stay motivated, especially after I get some good games.
Christmas was alright this year. I didn't do anything family wise, which kind of blows, but whatever, most of my extended family is so messed up right now. Oh well. I got Mass Effect, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, The Simpsons Movie on DVD, bags and boards for my comics, a new Phillies shirt, a new black hooded sweatshirt, a Sandtrooper action figure, one of those kiddie inspired Star Wars action figures, and Guitar Hero Three, which was a shared gift with my brother. My grandmother got me The Marvel Encyclopedia, which is pretty awesome. Overall it was good, but gifts aren't all that count or some BS like that.
I did buy myself something nice over the break, Guitar Hero Two. I got it more or less for the guitar so i could play co-op with my brother. I haven't even opened up the game yet, actually.
I've worked pretty much all break, but it's all good. I made $50 yesterday beside my check by doing some very easy score keeping for the college showcase. A lot of my co-workers were playing in the showcase, I felt like kind of a jackass since I can't even skate, but whatever. On Saturday, I went to the Voorhees rink with our hockey director Bill. Their Skate Zone is a lot...bigger, better. It was really sort of humbling, but at the same time it was like a little blessing because I realized how much of a pain it would be if I had to work in the middle of this crazy, big building compared to our rink. Plus driving there was pretty wild. I drove on 295 and went 75 and my car started shaking really wild and I thought it was breaking down.
I've been watching a whole lot of X-Men Evolution lately. And a lot of Futurama, which I blame on the marathon that has been running on Adult Swim. I blame the man for me going to bed at 3am! It's going to be hard to get back into a school routine, which reminds me, I have a shit-ton of homework for Creative Writing. Damn taking a non-all senior class senior year!!
Oh well. I suppose that is all for now.
~Derek
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[06 Dec 2007|07:32pm] |
Wow, Right Now by Van Halen really has one crazy video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCkQZOnCN3k
That's one of the songs I had on my mix CD at the tournament. I never had really heard it before but now it's starting to become one of my favorite songs.
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| Busy Week |
[02 Dec 2007|09:55pm] |
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So {last} last week was, indeed, a very, very busy week. I had work on Wednesday after school until right before the bonfire. It was nothing too gross, but I did have to squee-gee every pane of glass in the building. It's not that hard, it just takes a long time and is incredibly boring. Luckily I had my iPod, and since no one was there, I listened to music for a little bit. There was a little bit of labor, when I had to ice-chip the boards, which sucked. My back is still kind of hurt. But all in all it wasn't such a bad day at work. After that, I had to go to this stupid, stupid, ultra-lame bonfire. The only positive thing was it was probably the first time I've seen Mrs. Lingesso be nice in years. And even that wasn't really worth being there.
Turkey Day, awesome. We had a football game in the morning, which blew, and it was away, which was not cool, and it blew even more because it was an away game. There were a lot of Pennsauken people there, people that I hadn't seen in a while. We got to leave at halftime which was awesome. I drove home and was pretty much whisked away to Maryland. It was a decent Thanksgiving, we were at my grandmother's house along with my Aunt, her boyfriend, my uncle, and his two kids. It wasn't the best thanksgiving ever, but by the same token it wasn't a bad one either.
Friday was the first day I score kept at the Tournament. The machine to work the scoreboard is this big, ugly broken thing from the late 1980s, and it shorts out or blows a fuse a lot. It's a trying thing, score keeping. If you mess up people will bitch about you, and I was messing up a lot. Especially the first game. The one coach was a really nice guy though, and he really helped me out. The other coach was a dick, but whatever. There were a few games where the kids were assholes. Not to me in particular,just overall - cursing at their coaches and the refs, calling bullshit on everything, threating to beat each other up. It's like...children, you're in a B major league. You're not that good, sorry. But every kid thinks he's going to the NHL. My last game was so easy because it was mites, and there were no penalties and barely any scoring, aka, a score keeper's dream game.
Saturday was day two of the score keeping trials of Derek. I was a lot less nervous about everything, and I wrote a lot of notes to work the scoreboard and stuff like that. I also dropped the shorthand writing - transfer to score sheet style of keeping penalties and goals, since I think it was hindering me in the long run. My games all went really smooth, no asshole kids or breakages on the board. Honestly, nothing really stands out from Saturday.
Just in general though, it was really, really cold in the keeper's box. I had a sweatshirt, a t-shirt, and a heavy jacket on and I was still freezing. My fingers all went number pretty fast, and I could not wear gloves because I needed to press that crappy dilapidated machine. I drank a hot chocolate (really more like a luke warm chocolate) after every game but I was still really cold pretty much all day. Anyway...
Sunday I went to work for the championship events, but not as a scorekeeper, as a music guy/announcer man. It's probably the coolest thing I've done at work other than smashing those long lights bulbs that shatter, then explode. It was a lot of fun, I had a 17 song CD and I never want to hear any of those songs again. I used No Way Back, Right Now, Bark at the Moon, and Machine Head for intro songs in each game, respectively. It was actually the first time I've gotten compliments from the parents instead of jeers or hate mail. I even played Sweet Caroline in the last game and some of the fans sang along.
So that is a bare bones rundown of my extremely busy week. I still have to catch up on the week that just passed, ugh. Oh well. That's a story for another day.
~Derek
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| Heavy Work |
[18 Nov 2007|10:11pm] |
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So next week is shaping up to be, possibly, the busiest week ever in my life so far. Why, you ask? Well...let me give you a rundown!
Monday I have school. No big deal, whatever. I have to watch Heroes at the end, but that's not a big deal either, whatever. Tuesday, once again, school, and then I have band practice, which shouldn't be too hard. Wednesday I have school and afterwards the band is playing at some extremely lame sounding bonfire. I hope that we can leave early or something because it seems like it's going to be a waste of time.
Then the big guns come out. Thanksgiving I have a football game to play at early. We have to report at 8 and we don't get home until 2, which blows. Then I'm going with my family to Maryland for dinner at my grandmother's house, same old bullshit. I'll get home around what, 11ish? No big deal.
Me and Corey have plans to go the Best Buy extremely early to attempt to get an HDTV. That should span 4-7. I have work at 8 until 3, and then I have to go back at around 9 to help Corey close the place down at mid-night. Friday is by far the most hectic day.
I finish up my weekend with a nice round of parades on Saturday, followed by more work at 3 until who knows when. Sunday I'll sleep and watch TV, hopefully on a brand new HD.
So that's the way my week is shaping up. Oh...boy.
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[08 Nov 2007|03:48pm] |
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This week has been strange, to say the least. I haven't been in school since Monday. It was a pretty chill day, mainly because I can't remember anything that happened, so it obviously wasn't bad. I was pretty sick though, which blew, but whatever.
Tuesday my mom was off from work and I was off from school. I didn't even see my mom that much though, because we were both out and about. I went to Gamestop at the Cherry Hill Mall and the manager who was working more or less forced me to fill out an application, even though I wouldn't ever want to work there. I told him I wouldn't really want to be hired and I already have a job, but he told me to just fill it out anyway since they have to hit a quota or something. It was probably the weirdest thing that ever happened to me at a mall. After that I hit up Wawa and then I went to the Skate Zone to see when I worked. I'm glad I did because they told me to work on Thursdays and Friday during the day, which is really convenient because I was doing nothing either of those two days. After all that I had band, which was shortened, whatever. I came home and accidentally stayed up until like 2:30.
Yesterday was Senior Cut Day, woohoo. My dad was off from work, and he told me that we had to do something if I was staying home from school, so we decided to go to the funeral for that Philadelphia cop that got shot. We went there, it was this big chapel in the middle of Center City. After that we went to Reading Terminal for breakfast. We walked on Race street and we came upon this weird old fire house with these awesome Gargoyles on the side, and wouldn't you know it, it's a condemned building. Right across the street from the fire house was a Church of Scientology meeting center. I didn't know there were any of them in the city. It had a smashed window and the glass on one of the doors was all cracked and webbed. I thought that was pretty funny.
So about those Gargoyles, my dad has given me the job of finding out what's going to happen to them, if anything. I think he wants to get them. That would be cool, but what are the chances they're unclaimed? Probably low. Plus I wonder how hard it will be to get in contact with someone. Probably easy.
Anyway. We went to Reading Terminal and got breakfast and Seafood for dinner. We saw this plant store and my dad was going crazy looking at some of the things. Like a kid in a toy shop. I think I know what to get him for Christmas. we caught the train back and I drove home. Afterwards, we watched Knocked Up, which was pretty funny. I went to the mall and got a few comic books, and came home, and had dinner. After dinner, Leyla texted me and asked me if I wanted to hang out. I agreed, and I went to her house with a bunch of other people. We watched Knocked Up (yes, I watched it twice). Not really that funny the second time you see it.
Today I woke up a little late and was almost late to work. Work was pretty boring, but I logged 6 hours, so that's great news. I'm getting really close to my Elite fund.
Band tonight.
~Derek
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[28 Oct 2007|10:35pm] |
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I didn't really do much this weekend, which, in retrospect, is okay, since I've been incredably busy in the last month or so. It was a weekend with no band (well...not much), no work, and no school work. All of which made it a very good chill weekend. So what all did I do, you ask? Well...
Friday was a pretty normal day in school.. Creative Writing is easily becoming my favorite subject, which is weird because it's pretty much the only class other than government that I have a lot of work in. But still, something about it just makes me like it. On the other hand, I really don't like Anatomy. It's cool, I guess, because I'm keeping my head above the water, but otherwise we have way too many tests and quizzes. I mean, not that I think I shouldn't have to do work because I'm a senior or anything...it's just...having a quiz a week and a test every other week, and homework every night, it just seems a little...much. Not anything I can do about it, though. So anyway, back to Friday. Eight period I went to the library and played the Portal Flash Game. It's hard. It's fun. It's strangely addictive. I gave Leyla a ride home, which somehow included Wawa and going to her house. It was raining really hard and my rear defrosters don't work. That, and my check engine light comes one like...1/10 times you start the car. Not good. After Leyla's I came home and found out the football game was canceled for the band, which was awesome. I considered going into work, but instead I played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for a long time. Man that game is awesome.
Saturday I woke up really early. It was raining out, which made me a little made because I couldn't eat breakfast on the porch, but whatever. I took it easy for a few hours, then I went to the mall and got a few comics. It was cool; I drove myself with my car, on gas I bought, to a place I wanted to go, and bought things I wanted, with money I earned from work. Awesome. After that, I went with my mom and dad to see Across the Universe. Okay, it was a little weird being at the movies with my parents, but I don't think I saw anyone I knew. As for the movie, I liked it, but I thought it was a little preachy. Plus it was a little annoying with all of the Beatles references. That's knid of a dumb statement, since it's a Beatles movie and all, but most of the song placements just seemed...forced. Like..."Hey, we need a song but there's no way it would work in the plot". "Well...I think it's acid trip time!" After the movies, Leyla and Bianca kept calling me to take them to see Saw IV. But, I was already at the movies once, I had no money, I've never seen 2 or 3, and I had a sinking feeling they just wanted a ride, not to hang out with me. So I said no.
Today, we were supposed to have a band competition, but it was rained out. We did have a four hour practice, which kind of...blew, but...whatever. It wasn't too much work, it was just really long. I came home and what do you know, AMC has started their horror movie marathon! I watched Psycho, Exorcist, and The Fog, the last of which was really crap. But I digress, sometimes you have to watch crap just because it's Halloween. I also watched the Eagles win, which just made this weekend all the sweeter.
Overall, it's probably the chillest weekend I've had since late August. Now it's 11:00 and I have to do some homework. Well that's fantastic.
P.S. Hip-hop is the best driving music.
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| Dun dun dun |
[23 Oct 2007|10:37pm] |
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mood |
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 nerdy |
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Well, life has been relatively good recently.
Marching Band season is in pretty much full swing these days. We're doing...okay. I think it was a mistake to join TOB again. I mean, Freshmen year we were in it and the same exact thing happened: we had a bad performance and couldn't bounce back. The difference is, Freshman year, our bad performance was the first one, and we never bounced back because we were just...a bad band. This year we started off strong and tripped up and now we're screwed. I am pretty disappointed, I feel like my Senior year was wasted. Although, maybe the band just isn't...good this year. I was talking to a few people on Saturday, after we had our third bad performance in a row (the football game), and we were all just...at a loss. After every performance everyone has excuse, "Oh, it was windy", "Oh, it was cold out". Eventually it won't matter, because we'll just be that bad that never lived up to our potential.
Oh well. It's going to be weird never having a marching an event again. Of course, every year I've been in band I've had that, "Well, this is it for another year" feeling. But this is going to be a "Well, this is it...FOREVER" feeling. I'm getting old. I mean, it's not like I'm going to run out and join a drum corps or anything (and it's not like I even could, since I play Sax. Plus I'm not that good). But it's just going to be different. Band has been, despite a wide range of feelings I've had about it, a major part of my school AND social life for the past four years. And now it's all over. It's not like I have a bunch of regrets or anything like that. In fact, I have very little, other than being pretty much anti-social for the first 3 years (well, it was really the middle two. I was pretty sociable during my first year, although I was a bit of a jackass). It's just going to be a lot different, to just move on with my life. Leaving band is going to be a micro-cross section of leaving High School, I suppose.
So yesterday was Senior Recognition day at the football game. I got walked onto the field by my mom, dad, and my brother. Cool.
In other departments of my life...school is going pretty good. I'm not having trouble in any of my classes, I'm keeping my head above the water in my harder ones, and I'm really doing very good in Creative Writing. That means a lot to me; I want to just...get an A on everything I do there. Even when we don't do things I like, like now we're going personal narratives, and who likes them anyway. I have nothing exciting in my life happen that I could write about. Everything that I do think about writing would sound cliched and boring. Cliched is my biggest fear; I could write a heart-tugging story about the death of my aunt or the loss of my cousin, but everyone writes about them. And I can't write anything really funny because it has to be pretty much serious. And that blows. I mean, I'll still writing something, and I'll still probably do pretty good, too. It's just...I don't like personal narratives.
In other news, I got my Driver's License on Monday. The test was easy, I thought for a while I was going to fail though. I'm glad I made it on my first try, though. Driving to school is a little weird, but I'll get used to it in time.
Tomorrow What If? Plant Hulk comes out. I am very excited for that one.
~Derek
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[04 Oct 2007|10:28pm] |
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mood |
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hot |
] |
So life's been pretty good this past half month or so. I got a new cell phone two weeks ago. I like it, it's SO much better than my shitty old pre-paid one. Plus I have unlimited texting and like...2000 minutes every month, PLUS rollover. It's ridiculous how much I have on there. I've started using it for everything though, like...making calls to my family when I'm at my house. There's just too many minutes to use the house phone.
Speaking of house calls, my job is going really good. I realize that house calls and ice skating have no connection whatsoever but hey. I don't work much now, because of band, but I'm slowly yet surely getting use to basically being a glorified janitor. And I'm making money, a lot of money, and eventually I'm going to buy my own 360. Should take me a month, maybe two, to get one, but when I do...it's going to be a lot of fun. So yeah...my job. Boring work sometimes, although other times it can get really interesting. And I make tips! I mean, who tips a skate hander-outer. It's not something I would do. Plus, these days they have a snack bar type thing upstairs, and at the end of the day they hand out pizza and drunks for free to the employees. PLUS, I can do just about anything skating or hockey related there because I'm an employee. Awesome awesome awesome. Overall, it's a tough job sometimes, but there's nothing amazingly tough about it, and the perks are totally worth it.
School's been okay. I have a lot of work to do tonight, which is why I'm still up this late. Well, that and it's very hot in my room so I'm pretty much not going to be able to sleep much. Oh well. Tomorrow is supposedly Senior Cut Day, but I'm really not on bored with that, since Friday's are pretty much my chill days anyway, and even moreso, because my Anatomy teacher won't be there. I mean, maybe, if I wake up and feel like shit, I won't go, but that's just a pretty big maybe. I like school. Once second period ends, it goes very fast for me. And I usually just go to the library 8th period and read some of their comics until the bell rings.
Band's been pretty good too. I like how I'm much more social this year. It just makes for an all around better experience. I knew going in, though, that it was going to happen this way. I've always been funny and witty, I was just...holding back, because I knew there were people in band that would hate me no matter how charming I was. But this year, I figured, why not, might as well just go out there and try. AND IT WORKED.
Today something wild happened to me. I was driving to band when I got pulled over. I was freaking out, because, wtf, why am I being pulled over, I was driving slow and everything. Now, my Saturn was bought in Pennsylvania, so it doesn't have a front plate holster. And that's illegal in New Jersey, apparently. So now I have about a month to get a front holster, or else I could face a $200 fine. That's acctually kind of bullshit though, because those holders are forty bucks each. My dad will probably pay for it, which will just make me feel bad, since he payed for some of the car itself too. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you have a kid. But I have a job, and money to buy one, but then I'll get set back on my Xbox fund. Ugh, this blows.
Oh and I went to the Phillies yesterday. They lost. Boooooo.
~Derek
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[17 Sep 2007|09:26pm] |
Okay, maybe I severally over-reacted with the whole schedule thing. It's not that bad, I actually like most of my classes, and the people in them don't suck that bad either. He's the rundown. First period, I have Literature, which is pretty fun. Seems like we'll be doing a lot of work though. Second period I have Creative Writing, which so far has been pretty much grammar stuff since there are a lot of underclassmen in that room. Plus, we have to do HSPA practice stuff, even though I already passed, because there are Juniors in there. Oh well. Third period I have Gym, which is pretty easy as long as you do everything. 4th period I have lunch. The first time I've had lunch since Freshman year, and I have it the same period wtf. Fifth period I have US Government, which is by far the easiest class I have. I should really have no problem passing it, with at least a B. After that, I have anatomy, which is my hardest class, but the good news is, Mr. Nguyen is my teacher again! So that's pretty sweet. After that I have band, and I round out the day with a nice bout of Study Hall. I get all my homework done and can chill at the end of the day. No complaining there.
So that's my schedule. It's pretty chill, and honestly I have...maybe three classes that I have to take "seriously". But I guess that just goes along with being a Senior.
In other news, band is going pretty good. I'm really ready to just compete, I'm tired of football games and practices. Our first competition is on Saturday, so FINALLY the season will start and things will start to seem...brighter, I guess.
Pretty much it here.
~Derek
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[05 Sep 2007|02:43pm] |
I wonder if there will ever be a year where I like my schedule, most of the people in my classes, and my teachers.
I guess not.
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| Boy Meets 360 |
[31 Aug 2007|01:34am] |
So Corey got a Xbox360 today, and it's pretty much all but confirmed the fact that I'll get one down the road. My only problem with it is the wireless controllers were kind of confusing to set up, but now that I've done it, I won't have that problem again. So yeah, my first few paycheck will definitely go into the Xbox fund. The way I see it, I won't even have a shot at getting it until mid-November, and even then it's going to be close. Now, if I get it in November, I could probably get something like a game or two at Christmas. If I don't, and save my money for a mid-January buy time, I could probably afford an Elite. But this is the plan so far; buy the 360, get a Xbox game that I never had a chance to play (Like KOTOR), buy a 360 game that will keep me occupied for a while (Halo 3, or Madden, or something like that). And enjoy. Although, i am going to need to earn all this money, which is good, since I got that Skate Zone job woo.
In other news, Marching Band is pretty much clicking into high gear. We had practice today, but we pretty much just got yelled at the whole time. But really, how are we supposed to be expected to give it 100% if only 2/6 of our staff members were there? And like half the band was missing too. Oh well. It's practices like that that you just have to slug through and hope it turns 9:15 faster than it seems. I just hope this season...lives up to the hype. I hope we can actually get over all the melo-dramatic shit that really hindered up last year and just...win. A lot. That would be like, the best way to end my band career. Maybe I'll write a book: From Worst to First, The Derek Smith/Pennsauken Marching Band story.
So, remember how I said I was watching all the Boy Meets World episodes? Well I'm up to Season 5, but I skipped Season 1, so I have to go back and watch that...eventually.
I think the PSP is the best invention ever.
~Derek
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| August heat |
[21 Aug 2007|11:49pm] |
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mood |
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 chipper |
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Oh man, it's that time again. Marching Band season, fall, the big guns come out. I can't believe how fast summer went, and how little I updated my journal. Oh well. I figure I have a lot more to write about in the winter, because of school. Or maybe I'm out more in the summer and have less time to update my journal. Or maybe nothing really exciting happens to me in the summer. Oh yeah, that's probably it.
Let's see. Summer has been pretty goof. Last last Thursday night/Friday morning, I helped paint the Phantoms rink at the Skate Zone on River Road. So if you ever go there to watch a game, or for public skating or anything like that, just remember who brought you the beast Phantom logo with the orange eyes ;). I hope I get a job there. i should, I mean I worked really hard and tried to...show off my skills. Corey works there, he says the hours are really lax, so they would work around my band season, which would just be...the most awesome thing ever. So here's to hope of my getting a job.
Lately I've been watching a lot of Boy Meets World, the DVD sets. It's a good show, I watch like three or four episodes before I to bed. It's like a zen hours after the hard work that springs from...
Band camp, which started last Monday and just keeps chugging along like a train going over a cliff. I have high hopes for this time around, actually, so it should be a pretty exciting season this year. Something about being a Senior that just really makes you want to win. Plus this year I've decided it's my goal to be a lot more social. I'm not just going to be the anti-social, small circle of friends, shy, quite, bus 4 riding loser that only some people know. And so far it's working pretty good. I just hope we do good, TOB was a bitch last time we were in it. But that was Freshman year, a whole lot has changed since then. So we'll see. We'll see.
School's about to happen to. Last year at that crummy High School. No big lose, I'm still looking at colleges I want to go to. I still have no idea what major to take. My parents really want me to take Biology; they haven't outright said it, but they've just been hinting it. But I really want to take English, or maybe Creative Writing. But then I think, wtf, what would I do with that major, how would I make money. So I'll either be a semi rich Biologist and be unhappy, or a happy but poor starving artist. Pretty much blows either way. Although this is if I even make it into a college with those majors, LOL.
Well, that's my life in a nutshell recently. Oh, and I've been listening to the audiobook of World War Z. Everyone else should, or at least read it yo.
~Derek
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