Mere Sentiments

The only thing I'm really going to miss when I leave from San Jose is my room here at my grandparents' house. It's always messy but it's so awesome. I like how my windows face the front yard and my little desk in front of the side window. I don't think I'm going to be able to set up a room quite so cozy once I move back to Gustine. The room I'm moving into is too awkward to arrange properly.

My fingernails are way too long.

I'm excited about going to Mexico this summer. It's so amazing how quickly things can change when you make yourself vulnerable to change. To resist it is to ignore any possibility. But giving in can be so much more refreshing than resisting can be. Surrender has somehow become so beautiful... I love the fact that probability is so ridiculous. What are the odds? Odds are enhanced by the resistance in our natural tendencies. But in the end they're worthless. Maybe not in poker or in Vegas but in life I've found that odds don't stand a chance against reality. Statistics are excuses with numbers. There is no better loss than to lose myself in You What are the chances David would get a girlfriend? What are the odds that Anthony would get a myspace? What probability was it that Nathan would marry Janine? One hundred percent. There is a reason, therefore, there is an inevitability. Well, maybe no reason for Anthony's myspace...

Either way.

I'm trying to organize my responsibilities in this wedding. The bachelor parties and the speech. I think we've got the first party arranged pretty well, but as for the second one I think it's going to have to receive some attention from Dan, DT, and me forthwith.

Again for the first time...

It was when I was driving back to the Valley of Death through the rain with the second intermission of the Shark's game perfectly lining up with the fifteen minutes or so that I don't get radio reception when I realized for the millionth time in the past couple years that despite the fact that this isn't where I want to be I'm having such a good time. Just being alive. I don't always thank You for the rough days and the hard times in my life, even though I should. I like who I am and what I do and where I am in my life. The struggles are what make the good times good. And I'm not just saying this just because the Sharks won as I was parking in the drive way.

I haven't posted anything on this site for a very long time. Even being here typing this brings me back to memories and states of mind that I wouldn't be able to remember otherwise. I'm still kind of stuck between whether or not I want to make a big deal about blogging here again. I probably won't. If you're reading this (which I think you are) you can leave a comment if you want but you don't have to. It'd be nice. And then I could know who's reading stuff that I write.

I enjoy spending time up in the canyon. I like being in Patterson, too, even though I still feel really out of place and unaccepted there. It takes time and I know that. It's late and I have to be awake sometime before 5:45 tomorrow to catch a train to get to class on time.

Every single moment
whether sleeping or awake
is Your creation
and what You made is good...

Top Ten Albums

For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge fan of David Letterman. I was watching him the other night and I decided that my blog could use a little spice. And, of course, by 'spice' I mean a semi-regular Top Ten List just like the D-Train has. I guess mine will be a little more serious though, for the most part. Every now and then I might put up a silly one but usually it will consist of my honest opinions about the ten best things of a particular category. Unless there are numbers designated to the different items on the list the it will be assumed that the list is in no apparent order. This list is for the top ten albums (hence the title) but I won't include any bands from earlier decades because I think you all know that comparing The Doors to Blink 182 is like comparing Mountain Dew to Crab Juice. So, here it is, in no particular order, my top ten favorite albums that you've never heard...

- "Interventions and Lullabies" by The Format (its a band from Arizona who I saw play with mae a few years ago. awesome album. if you listen to it you have to be amazed with the way they can use a drum machine. absolutely brilliant cd.)

- "Destination: Beautiful" by Mae (debut album written by two guys from virginia who impressed their recording musicians so much that they quit their dream jobs to join the band. there is not a worthless song on the entire album. probably the most unique sounding band ive ever liked.)

- "MMHMM" by Relient K (all their albums are good but this (#4) is the greatest. every aspect of this project is spectacular from the writing to the message to the vocals and instrumentation. if you consider getting any of the albums on this list, this is the one to get. the lyrics alone are enough to make this album one of the greatest.)

- "Blueprints For the Blackmarket" by Anberlin (when i first heard of this band i was really skeptical but this album was more than enough to change my mind. they display a variety of different styles back to back and pull it off flawlessly. they're probably number one on my list of bands who im dying to see live.)

- "Lonely For the Last Time" by Seven Places (the best spiritual album of all time. its bands like this who make me love my relationship with God. they have a way of putting things into words that ive never heard before. stunning.)

- "Bleed American" by Jimmy Eat World (the middle is my least favorite song on this cd but people seem to like it just fine so you know its a knock out. i like the way jim does his vocals. he doesnt have the greatest voice but he has a style that makes you think he does.)

- "Leaving Through the Window" by Something Corporate (ill admit that there are a couple songs that i skip whenever i hear them come on but the good songs on the album more than make up for the filler. i have a thing for piano and this band incorporates it perfectly into rock music.)

- "Give Up" by The Postal Service (its probably a lot softer than most of you are used to but its a good cd. a lot of experimental electrosounds and clever lyrics and ideas used in the compilation. the same guy who sings for death cab for cutie does this band with some other guy. if you like death cab but you dont like slitting your wrists then you might like this album.)

- "Bleach" by Bleach (johns voice always reminds me of billy corgain and i have to apologize to evan but i definitely like bleach more than the smashing pumpkins. bleach is a legendary band in the eyes of the christian rock scene and were more than good enough to impress the mainstream but they were die hard christians and followed their faith till the end. the band broke up when the brother of two of the guys in the band was killed in iraq.)

- "Enema of the State" by Blink 182 (i dont care what you guys say, this was one of the greatest albums of the nineties. three guys with that much energy writing this entire album in less than a month and having it make the impact that it did is downright stellar. travis barker is the best punk drummer who ever lived and if you still dont think so you need to download some video and be corrected.)

Well, thats it. Again, it's only my opinion and I know opinions don't count for much. I just thought you'd like a little insight into the life and mind of Joel.

Fifth leg! Fifth leg!

Back in SJ

Well, I'm officially back in San Jose for the spring semester and I can't help thinking about the end of semester and how awesome summer vacation will be if I can find a place to work or find a way to get enough money that I won't have to work. We'll see though. Um... nothing exciting has happened recently, which is why I have the time to type now and tell everyone about it. Kind of funny though, I got here in SJ and got on the computer and there was a web address on the address bar called 'littleshavers.com' and I saw it and the first thing that came to mind was 'oh crap, someone's been checking out the kiddies!' so I took a chance and went to the site to see if my suspicions were well founded. Turns out it was a carving site that my grandpa goes to. But dang, it was quite an adventure. Yeah. Anyways.

Boring.

I guess I could do some awards or something that people might find worth looking at but the motivation is lacking. Go Seahawks! I'll talk to you guys later.

First Annual Rossi Awards (part 1)

Welcome to the very first presentation of the Rossi Awards where I will announce the winners of some of this year's most awesome features. For those of you who don't know what the Rossi Awards are all about (where have you been?) let me explain. Over the past twelve months myself and the pannel of a few wayward brain cells have been collecting notes and data on who we feel most deserves the honor (or horror) of earning the top position on our list for their categories. These categories are kind of random (hey, its the first year and I'm making this up as I go along) so be patient and wait till all the winners are announced before you start your complaining. Feedback is welcome. Who knows? Maybe there's an award for the craziest comment I've recieved on my site. (Nah) So, here they are in no particular order:

This years winner of the Rossi Award in the field of...

Television shows is: MXC (honorable mention: The Colbert Report, Jeopardy!)

Rookie of the Year is: Huston Street (hands down)

Best Prank: Dead Animals on Farris' Lawn (too bad we can't get footage of the reaction)

Worst Idea: Peeing on Joel's car (Tiki Room would've made last year's list)

Best place to hang out: Anthony's house (It's so LOUD!)

Best haircut: Andrew's Fro-Hawk courtesy of Matt and Joel (Someone has the pictures)

Teacher of the Year: Mrs. Simmons and Mr. Absood (where were they at graduation?)

Best Root-Beer Baseball Game: Some one has the pictures (there was only one, right?)

Car Accident: David trying to kill the OLM kids or Happle hitting the parked car (toss up)

Automobile: Matt's Shaggin' Wagon (that car is one of us)

Movie Rental: Team America (holy crap)

to be continued...

(there's plenty more where that came from. plus, an exclusive look at this years style of the trophy. maybe. if i get around to it.)

The Jerk

The funniest movie that no one has ever heard of is 'The Jerk'. It is now reinstated as one of my favorite movies. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to changing my profile to include it. I never realized how much of a inovator of comedy Steve Martin is. If you haven't seen it you should seriously consider sitting down and watching it. It's old (1979) so don't expect to laugh out loud and wet your pants but it has to be one of the most commendable works of comedy of all time. How could a movie with the line "I'd love you even if you were the color of a baboon's ass!" not be worth watching? It's hilarious. So watch it. Plus, Bernadette Peters is in it and she has to be the sexiest actress of the twentieth century. So there you go; you've got good lines, good writing and a hot chick. What else could you want. Put it on your next Netflix order or I will fight you.

Alright, it's been a while since I've done one of these, but I think it may be time for a new one. Whenever I try to write one of these they always turn out retarded but everyone else has good ones. Keep that in mind.

• The class I miss the most from senior year is probably the fourth period physics class we had despite being with Farris the whole time.
• If money wasn't an issue I'd drive home anytime I had more than five consecutive hours of down time.
• The two people from school who I've talked to the least this semester were the two I talked to the most for the last two years of high school.
• I consider myself a worthless musician.
• I don't know what or where I'll be in five years and that doesn't really bother me much anymore.
• Alana is the only girl who I've felt this comfortable with for this long and I can honestly see her and I staying together when we're all old and grey.
• Sometimes I go over to my uncles house just to watch the baby make faces.
• I don't ever get really embarassed.
• Libertarianism probably is the most closely related ideology to how I feel about politics and government, but I registered and voted Republican and plan to until something drastic happens in government.
• I have two CD's that belong to the library that I lost so now I owe $85,000,000. (blessid union of souls, and foo fighters)
• When I was a baby I slept in a wagon for the first year of my life.
• The only reason I don't want the Colts to go undefeated is because the Broncos couldn't do it in 1998.
• I rarely (if ever) study for tests no matter how big or important they are.
• I'm really bad at keeping a conversation going because my mind wanders so quickly.
• When I drive by myself I usually sing or talk out loud.
• I'm really picky about what shirts I'll wear.
• When it comes to movies I tend to be really cynical and dissaproving.
• I like classical music.
• I always sleep either fully clothed (jeans and everything) or fully naked.

Alright, that's enough for today. Twenty. Yeah, I doubt I'll write another one of these for a long time. I'll think of something original for my next post.

Career Day

So, I really don't know what I want to be when I grow up because I get worried that I'll either not have enough time or enough money to do other things depending on which job I choose. I like writing. Any kind of it. Especially when I'm able to exercise my morbid notion of what creativity should be. Basically, the point of this blog is to reiterate a story that my humanities professor told us the other day in class. ... and I don't know what the purpose of that opening part was. Maybe to prove that I've been writing way too many term papers and I felt the subconcious need to open up with some sort of thesis. Yeah. Way to many papers.

I hate writing.

So my professor had this cousin who lived in New York area and he had this job with the city sewer team. Well, during the winter when everything in the sewer system had froze up one of his jobs was to get down in the tunnels (with this huge fire-hose type thing that sprayed out warm water) and melt all the frozen sewage. So if he couldn't unfreeze all the crap he'd have to go back down the next day, but if it did melt enough all this raw sewage and icy crap would rush at him like a tidal wave.

Moral of the story: if you drop out of college don't move to New York.