Right so, updates. Tons of them. Not sure where to start really. Wellll....let's start where I remember leaving off!

Graduated and all that. Still have not received my diploma and I haven't been able to contact the woman who deals with all that junk. I have decided to not continue school and I have a valid reason for doing so. Were I to go to school I'd need to have a job to pay for tuition. I'm not so sure I could mentally and physically handle it. I know, I know tons of other kids my age do but hell, maybe I'm just lazy. Okay, I AM lazy but whatever. Also, were I to work for a year, I could save up quite a bit of money and not have to worry much about tuition. I honestly love a real job. Which brings me round to my next bit of info.

I snagged a job. A couple in fact. Right now, I'm working a paid internship at a local art center as the promotions assistant. I do all their promotional design work. I design postcards, flyers, brochures, etc. It's very exhilarating, seeing your own work printed, high quality, glossy, so on and so forth! I was very proud of myself! But, it came with a price. I am realistic, and I know I'm not the best. So, while these things are great, it's just not enough. I feel....unfulfilled. I feel very...unqualified too. But, what ever. It's an internship, I'm supposed to be learning, I'm not supposed to be a professional all of a sudden. I'll be posting some of my work here for all to see.

The job is actually quite difficult. For one, I was told I work at a leisurely pace. First, were I too work quickly, I would get things done well before the deadline and be left with nothing to do. Second, there is no internet hooked up to the computer in my "office" so any pictures/graphics/fonts/brushes/etc. I need I have to get at home. Third, I hardly get the information I need. I can't very well design something if I don't know what needs to go on it can I? I had to change a design four times because of information changes/additions! But, I kept my mouth shut and just agreed. "Oh, yeah, sure, work faster, got it."

Also, I'm the only white guy there. I'm usually the only guy there. It's interesting, I tell you what. Makes me feel so uneasy and out of place. I'm constantly afraid of not earning their respect/approval/what ever because I'm so out of place. And it's fairly hard to have a conversation with anyone there. I can't talk about rock because they like Ne-Yo. I can't talk about House because they like Tyler Perry's House of Pain. Luckily, I'm left somewhat alone in my "office" so the social awkwardness is at a bare minimum, I suppose.

In my first week there I did my best to work outside the box, be more than the resident computer nerd. I made phone calls to old Digital Media classmates to see if I could get them to help out at some of the events coming up. I got ahold of Toby, this really big Indian (Native American not India). He's an older guy, got a million and a quarter kids (some his own, most not blood related, he just takes in kdis who have nowhere else to go), and he's very cool. Very respectful and....well he's just the kind of guy that EVERYONE likes.

Anyway, we bs'ed for a bit, then I asked him if he could possibly do some filming at the hip hop event coming up that my work was hosting. He said he definitely would provided he was free and when I told him the date, turned out he was free. So that was a lucky thing. Then he asked if I would possibly be interested in working with him on a design gig that would pay me $100 a day to start. I'll be doing photography, photo edits, etc. as well. This guy is going to spend $10,000 on printers too, for some seriously high quality prints. I agreed before he even started twisting his mouth into making the "tuh" sound for "to". Toby has gotten VERY lucky since he left Bates. And he's throwing some of it my way, for which I'm very happy. I haven't heard from him about it in awhile but he's very busy with a lot of other gigs so I understand. Toby is someone to be trusted so I know he'll keep me informed.

Next up I think would be my birthday. Turned 19 on Sunday, the 26th. Important birthday, I know. Friend of mine tried getting girls to write "Happy Birthday Chili" on their boobs and taking pictures of it on 4chan. Kind of him, I thought. I even gave it a go. Got one pic in total and the chick cheated, used MSPaint to write with. Pah. Garbage.


Anyway, I got myself a killer amp with my first paycheck. It's a Fender Stage 1600. That's a story all in its own. Nearly totaled my grandma's van getting it. Parking lots are my driving kryptonite. Or maybe it's wheels. Not sure. Anyway. Bought this amp for $200. It's got very little wear on it and sounds positively amazing. Over 9000, built in effects and SERIOUS power. I CAN NOT turn the volume up past 5 or else the neighborhood will hear me and get angry. 5 upsets the neighbors but they can shove it. Before, my amps (two Fender Frontman 15Gs) sat on my dad Crate bass amp. Now, ALL the amps sit on my Stage 1600. *giggles like a girl*

Then, with the little bit of money left, I bought 3 copies of Star Wars Battlefront II for PC off of Steam. One for me, and two for my best Steam friends. Why are the graphics for Battlefront for PS2 better than the graphics for Battlefront II for PC? I don't understand. Anyway, I bought it because I remembered how 1337 I was at Battlefront (I got it confused with BF2 though) and wanted to pwn some more. Turns out I'm 1337 at Battlefront 2 as well. It's no biggy for me to get 45 kills and 0 deaths. I once snagged 92 kills and 0 deaths. I played a bit with my friend Dreii, and then creep, my other friend how had loved Battlefront 2, played the next day. Unfortunately, her laptop is about a 4 out of 10. She can play Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2, but Battlefront 2 and Garry's Mod seem a bit out of reach. Disappointment.

The day of my birthday my grandma got me up early (11am) and we headed to IHOP for breakfast. It was full of course so we downgraded to Denny's. I scored some country fried steak. Good stuff. Then we headed to Barnes and Noble because...well...I love books. My grandma got more books than I did because she's a book nut, but I got a few myself. Isaac Asimov - Robot Dreams, William Dietrich - Napoleon's Pyramids, Louis L'amour - Westward the Tide, Cowboy Bebop 2, and Frank Miller - Sin City: The Hard Goodbye. Then off to Best Buy where I grabbed a copy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for PS2. What can I say, I still love the PS2 and I never had the cash for The Force Unleashed. , a friend of mine on here was a tester for The Force Unleashed. As far as I can tell, The Force Unleashed = sex in my pants. God damn you Vader and your cold, bad ass, nonchalance!

So, I'm also on a diet. I eat nothing for breakfast, two granola bars for lunch, and a regular (not big not small) meal for dinner. I walk around 3 miles everyday. So far I have lost no weight. I'm on a roll! If I keep this up, I'll be scoring chicks left and right! Hmph. I think I'll have to exercise more which will suck because I'll forget to work out and it would be a waste really.

Um....I realized just now how very long this entry is and how very little many will care to read it. So, since I also need to get to bed for work tomorrow, I'll cut it off right here. If I remember any extraneous info, I'll add it later.