The Bat Cave

blogging woes....

2006-03-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

as you all know, I am not mentally capable of multitasking unless one of the things I'm doing I can do out of reflex (like twirl a staff or something). that being said I'm kinda tired of having so many websites to check so I'm going to consolidate my internet activities. My blogging shall be done on myspace for a while. if it doesn't work out I'll switch back but for the moment I think I like their setup. take care!

Finally! a great day!

2006-03-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

Today is by FAR the best day I've had in a long....LONG time
around O-Dark-30 this morning I played a few good rounds of pool, later in the morning I got to watch a movie and hang out with a special friend who I've barely seen for the last couple of months, while looking thru tax return stuff my dad came across around $300 I had stashed away years ago when I actually had a job so now I can afford the new BC that I've been wanting, I"m about to go pick up my new BC, and even tho I'm half asleep I'm still in such a good mood that I've actually got motivation to clean my apartment! I had almost forgotten what it feels like to have such great day! I hope everyone's spring break is going as wonderfully as my last 24 hours have been! So long and and thanks for all the fish!

Spring Break!

2006-03-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

well it's finally here! spring break has arrived! Tho this would ordinarily be a time for cheers and excitement, I find the cold truth of the world is over-shadowing my euphoria. Translation: I get to spend my spring break studying! =/ not only am I taking one of the most difficult professors in the entire poli sci department this semester but I have him for 2 classes. I am learning more from him than I have most of my other classes combined in the last few years, but nothing can excuse what this man is doing to his students. our Midterm exams (in both classes) are as soon as we come back from spring break. his review guides include 4 columns of terms, and several very broad, and indepth questions about the theories we've covered in class thus far. I like to take the review guides and write out defintions for the terms or answers to potential essay questions....but to do so for either of these classes will take at least 2 or 3 days! all that and the questions on the exam might not even be covered on his study sheets! Those few days I get to spend on the beach are going to be with notebooks and highlighters in my lap instead of a mask, fins, and snorkle. he actually went so far as to say in class "you'll have the entire break to study for this exam". does this not defeat the point of having a SPRING BREAK!?!?!?!?!? grrr..... I should complain to the administration

on a happier note, what are your plans for spring break? I"m hoping to trick myself into being happy living vicariously thru each of you! =) have a great week!

too much stress to post =/

2006-02-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

ok looks like I lied. I'm not gonna bore you with the long recap of the last 2 (now 3) weeks. for one I don't feel like it and for two I don't remember half of it. UFC 57 was the best ever. I've made a couple of trips to the cave. probably gonna make another one tonight when I should be doing homework instead. girls suck in general (no offense to my lady friends who read this blog. you all rock). um....what else.....my big news lately is we now officially have restarted the MTSU scuba club (inactive since 1998) and I have been elected president (thank you, thank you). if you know anything about the dynamic of people in my advanced class you'll find this slightly humorous. They were making jokes after the election about me walking around with a personal escort to clear the room before I enter class and they want to "borrow" one of the department golfcarts and put dive flags on it, we also talked about getting a tape recorder to play "hail to the chief" every time I enter the room.....anyway the funny part about all this stuff is that most of the class is County Deputies, a couple of paramedics (my personal physician as it were) and an airport security guard. I was already sitting surrounded by the cops. it made for an interesting class.

yeah so um....that's about it. a lot more has happened but nothing worth talking about. have a great week!

to my loyal readers:

2006-02-20T10:22:00.000-08:00

I apologise for my long Blogging break. things have been somewhat stressful and hectic in my tiny little world. I do intend to return to my weekly updates but not until later this week o possibly this weekend. at that time I shall bore you with an excessively long post recapping the events which have transpired in my life over the last 2 weeks or so. until then I hope you will find contentment reviewing my results to the quiz becca found. I took this quiz very quickly just before going to bed last night and you will notice a 3 way tie between 2 startrek universes and the Stargate universe....it is also interesting to note that all my results at a glace apear to be very accurate for which universes I believe I would fit into best. (DS9 is not my faverate startrek but so long as the war with the dominion is raging and I get to command the defaint and a strike team of sorts I'll be peachy) =) for now I'm off to take a midterm, write a 5 page paper, and babysit some scuba divers. see ya down below! =D

You scored as Deep Space Nine (Star Trek). You have entered the dark side of the Star Trek universe. The paradise of Earth is far from you and you must survive despite having enemies on all fronts. But you wouldnâ��t have it any other way because you thrive in conflict and will know what needs to be done to take care of those around you. Now if only the Founders would quit trying to take over the galaxy.

Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)

88%

Enterprise D (Star Trek)

88%

SG-1 (Stargate)

88%

Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)

81%

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)

81%

FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)

75%

Moya (Farscape)

75%

Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)

69%

Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

63%

Serenity (Firefly)

63%

Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)

63%

Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)

38%

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

UFC 57

2006-02-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

Liddell vs Couture 3, tonight! WOO HOO!!!!!

=(

2006-02-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

school sux. I quit

Scuba Handy-Man

2006-01-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

whoo hoo! I learned how to rebuild scuba regulators yesterday! if I can ever afford my own equipment, maintenence will now be a whole lot cheaper! =)

PHD

2006-01-25T21:22:00.000-08:00

ya know how Professor's usually have PhDs (Piled high and deep) and take it upon themselves to invent their own vocabulary whenever and however it suits them....did you ever think about the fact that we pay them to do this? to invent words out of nothing that essentially have just as much bearing on any individual's day to day life as it did before he conjured the word?(as in no bearing what so ever...) Well today my point of view has been changed. some PHD words truly are useful in day to day life (especially the day to day life of a college student). The word I have learned today....the one for which my parent's are paying thousands of dollars for me to go to school to learn....this fabulous word... it is the word: Crapulous! I love political science =)

PS. The man who conjured that particularly discriptive word also happens to be one of, if not the most intelligent person I have ever met.

PPS. during our debates in my senior seminar he used another term that I found absolutely humorous..... the term: CATASTROPHICALLY STUPID.... guess you had to have been there =)

I'm not quite busy enough....

2006-01-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

since I'm half way thru my first week of hell....I mean school, I thought it would be appropriate to share with everyone what my day to day schedule looks like for the rest of this semester.

I won't bore you with the exact hours of my classes but suffice to say I have settled on taking 17 hours worth of class for credit this semester. Those enrolled classes include a history (which I hate and requires lots of papers), my adv. scuba class (which obviously rox!), and 3 of the most difficult Poli sci classes that are offered. 1 of those 3 poli sci classes is taught by a guy with a STRONG, THICK African accent. the other 2 poli sci classes are THE HARDEST IN THE DEPARTMENT and I happen to have the same instructor for both...he also happens to be THE HARDEST INSTRUCTOR IN THE DEPARTMENT (please shoot me now)

oh wait, i'm just getting warmed up. ;) did I mention that aside from the classes I'm taking for credit, I will also be helping as a volunteer assistant instructor (uncertified) for 2 basic open water scuba classes? that's right! I'll be there!

"oh Frank, when ever will you have time to study?" you could be asking yourself. I dunno, but I'll tell you when I'm not gonna study....after the scuba classes of course! why you might ask? well I'll tell you. it's not b/c I"m gonna be staying for the second scuba class each night as I always have in the past....oh no, instead I will be taking various mixed martial arts classes. I intend to take 2 basic Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu Classes and 1 Muay Thai Kickboxing class regularly each week.

"Is that it Frank? tell me that's all you're going to try to do this semester. so many hard classes... you have to study sometime and still be able to relax don't you?" oh no my friend....no indeed. I have managed to clear my day all day Friday so rather than preparing for my insanely difficult classes I will spend my day alternating between various MMA classes to include the following: Take downs(no-gi), wrestling submission moves, and possibly a Vale Tudo(anything goes) class.

So let me sum this up a little for ya. I'm taking 17 hours of courses (so what if I count scuba?) I'm volunteering for 2 aditional intro to scuba classes, and I'll be taking a minimum of 3 mixed martial arts classes per week. somewhere in between all that I have books to read and papers to write. basically I shall again have no social life (except for perhaps occasionally tricking becca into sharing a fast lunch with me on wednesdays since we have an overlapping break). I"ve always been told I work better under pressure. it's very true in a sense b/c if I have time to relax I tend to procrastinate and get between little and nothing done. this semester I don't have time to breathe so perhaps my idle hands will finally be put to good use.

anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful next few months. don't worry about me if you don't hear from me for a while. just wait till a week or so after finals....if I still haven't shown any signs of life by then, call the sheriff's department and make sure they know that all it takes to bring me back to life is a hard rain storm and a lightning strike! take care all! =)

Songs for significant "others"

2006-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I really am just weird or this is normal (well we all know I"m weird, but I don't know if anyone else does something similar to this) but when I think back to past relationships there is always a song that sticks out in my mind. not that I really have a particular song for each relationship but there's always one song that I identify with each major relationship, either by virtue of lyrics or the emotion provoked by the music itself (thankfully no I do not identify anyone with "let the bodies hit the floor"). I've noticed that most of the time (tho not always) I choose a song after the relationship is essentially over and it is usually a song that very accurately describes the relationship. I suppose I'll know I've finally found "the One" when it's the girl that inspires music in my heart rather than the music attempting to make sense of the relationship....

that's my philosophical moment for the day. now it's time for lunch, a hair cut, Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, and maybe a swim somewhere in between. =)

to vote or not to vote?

2006-01-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

Consider this: many people do not buy or subscribe to a dialy paper. they instead choose to save their money and yet remain up to date on current events by traveling to their local newstand and purchasing only the Sunday paper. They choose Sunday b/c, as anyone who gets the paper each day will tell you, Sunday is the thickest of papers, the most informative with a recap of all "important" events for the week. true it contains the most advertisements but it also has a recap of all events of importance from the week.

what I don't get is today's edition of the daily news jounal. the front page headline read "Why don't more people goto the polls" or something to that effect. the article then spent its time recapping the same information you get from any highschool government course about how some people "don't have the time" or are "disinterested" etc. What struck me particularly funny is that there ARE NO ELECTIONS BEING HELD IN THIS STATE RIGHT NOW. not a school board, not a sherriff, not a judge anywhere in this state. at best the local crochet club at some random community college might be electing new officers tonight but not even greek life at any major university is holding an election. WHY ON EARTH DOES THE MOST IMPORTANT HEADLINE OF THE DAY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ELECTIONS?! somwhere burried on the second page of the "international" section of the paper (around page 6 i believe) was an article about Saddam's trial. it seems the chief presiding judge is no longer a part of the trail. if you're interested please look up more info on your own.

I don't really want any comments to this post, just thought I'd make the retorical point that american media sux. I'll try to come up with something else to post about soon.

Hotornot.com

2006-01-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I actually did this. I actually uploaded a picture of me to hotornot.com. i'm not telling you all this so my friends can pump my score, but b/c I thought you might get a kick out of seeing it. click the title of this post to see my pic. if you would like to rate me feel free but please be honest and don't just give me a high (or low) mark b/c you know me. I'm kinda curious how this is gonna turn out. after the first hand full of votes I was around 2.7. I thought my selfesteem was gonna crash but honestly I just laughed at it. a few hours later and I'm now at 5.7. anyway, that's all I've got for now. take care all! =)

p.s. if you decide to join, let me know the URL to see your pic. this is actually more fun than i expected it to be. =)

So I met professional vampires yesterday...

2006-01-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

oh what a busy day yesterday was. I guess I'll go for the brief run down as everyone knows I tend to ramble and overcomplicate everything. =)

usual start off to the day, up an hour before sunrise, goto dad's for coffee and sasuage (yum....), then things started getting interesting. rick called (early for once) and was ready for me to come help him move stuff (he and trish have a new apt). I get there, we load up his vehicle and mine, then wait for over an hour for the rest of the guys who were supposed to help to show up. once they got there with a trailer rick and I loaded up the heavy stuff and we finished moving him in 1 load! (Rick and I had moved a lot of stuff the day before). somewhere in the middle of the move I stopped by McD's for a double-quarter pounder meal with blue powerade to drink (again, yum!).

anywway after lugging his ginormous couch up a flight of narrow stairs, nearly dropping it over the railing once we were at the top, and somehow wiggling the thing thru the door without break anything other than one of the 5 guys thumbs and some skin on one of my wrist, we managed to finish the heavy lifting and got to take a break.

there was a severe local blood supply shortage at the hostpitol so there were 2 blood drives going on that day. luckily we finished moving early enough for me to make it to the blood bus. (enter professional vampires, stage left). I have never actually given blood (last time I went they said it was too soon after I had taken antibiotics from being sick or some such thing) so they had to start a file on my and fill out all kinds of paper work and such. (ok, mostly just one little sheet of yes/no questions and it asks each of the questions about 3 times a piece...anyway) While filling out the paper work they pricked one of my fingers to run some preliminary tests (checking iron content and what not). so this doctor type dude with a carribean accent is is laughing at me b/c while he's drining my body's life-giving essence i'm asking a bunch of random stupid questions about the form they're having me fill out. (if you know my sense of humor you can image some of my responses when they started listing medications and asking if I taken any of them in the last year. who the hell comes up with these names?)

considering the guy interviewing me had a strong carribean accent it was extra funny when I got to the question about "have you ever in your life had sex with anyone who was born in or has lived more than 5 months anywhere in Africa after the year 1977" (for those of you who don't know, I "dated" Sonneri in 8th grade...my first technical girlfriend actually...and she's from South Africa.....and no we did not have sex, it was 8th grade for crying out loud!) what's up with 1977 anyway? it's like that's the magic year AIDs apeared but anyone who was there in 1976 is perfectly safe....whatever

so after this long series of questions and surveys and interviews with some really nice guy who I could barely understand, the prelim stuff was winding up and my blood test results were comming back (the whole time we're talking my blood is being flung around in a centerfuge between me and my interviewer). he checks my blood, takes my BP and heart rate and such. Of all things, as I'm about ready to leave his portion of the blood bus and move up to one of the little "donation beds" he stops me and makes it a special point to tell me I am one of the healthiest people he had seen all day and that my numbers on all my tests were coming back perfect. He said I should be proud of how healthy I am and how well I take care of my body....it was everything I could do not to burst out laughing....or crying....then and there! this guy was so cool that I hated to say anything but if he knew what my regular diet was like he might not have let me give blood. seriously, I had 4 cups of my "special" coffee that morning! that's nearly a pound of sugar!!!! My blood is likely to put a normal person into shock. I don't know why i was there in the first place! and he thinks I'm the healthiest person he's seen in the last 6 hours?! everyone else must've had one foot in the grave to start with! wow, just wow....

so the nice carribean man gives me this really cool "mona-blood" t-shirt (as opposed to the mona lisa....you'd have to see the shirt to understand) and sent me on to the donating stations....

ok, I've rambled a while now so i'll try to keep the rest of it quick. some over weight nurse (who I am certain she was flirting with me at first) prepped me, stuck my arm and gave me a little rubber ball with instructions to "squeeze every 5-10 seconds". I guess she didn't check my exceptional blood flow or heart rate and stats and stuff because she got distracted talking to someone else (maybe she wasn't flirting after all) and forgot to look back and check my blood bag. I noticed she wasn't checking very frequently but after ease dropping on another nurse and donor I realized it usually takes a while for them to get a whole bag full.....next thing I know the nurse working on the guy accross from me looks down at my bag (it's in a device in the floor where I can't see it) and her eyes go wide.....poor old nurse lady jumped over to me....told me to stop squeezing and hurridly started puting clamps on the tube that my blood was pumping thru!

it turns out they didn't have a mess but I filled the bag much faster than was normal....in fact it was slightly over filled. They had all been talking about how this was my first "donation" so they were all extra worried about how I'd feel when i stood up. They're used to people passing out or getting dizzy and weak after filling half a bag, while mine was now about to burst at the seems! I don't know what the big deal is b/c I stood up....walked around....and felt perfectly fine! another guy jokingly asked if I had anything left to give....I asked how much more did he need....I really felt great. he said if I gave any more they'd have to take another bag and put some back in me. they all insisted I stay and eat a snack and drink before they'd even let me off the bus....I mean they were guinely concerned.

anyway there's no special ending this time, I just thought the above events were fun and worth blogging about. i left there and went to visit the new MMA studio in town (nice place actually). they were having their "grand opening" and the guys kept asking me to spar....once I rolled up my sleeve and they saw I was already missing a pint of blood they decided against trying to put me in a head lock or anything. I went back to rick's for speghetti that night (which I was very hungry and thirsty the rest of the night) and that was about it. to home and to bed. and so goes another day in the life of Frank. Those vampires were so nice tho! =D

oh so lonely

2006-01-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

it's official....Becca and Dee jump ship and the rest of our blogging world comes to a screeching halt.....I never get many comments anyway but no one else is posting either....how much longer can this blogging famine last?

Back to "normal" blogging?

2005-12-31T04:28:00.000-08:00

So the other day I realized I had not been swimming since finals and I've started to get a little chubby (again) so I was determined to go swimming. the following is a short recount of the first couple hours of my day. (yes becca, that's the worst and least cohesive introductory paragraph....ever

anyway, I woke up....wait, no I didn't. I hadn't gone to sleep that night (again). who needs sleep anyway....so instead I'll start with a different time like o-dark-30 but taht's not entirely accurate. I was a bum untill closer to half-past the butt-crack of dawn. (ladies, please forgive the profanity, I've still got some ROTC training in my blood afterall). so at about half-past the butt-crack of dawn I got dressed and went to my parent's house. Drank some Coffee with my dad, ran around with the dogs, ate a little breakfast...and after a while I decided it was time to go swimming. (ah hah! I'm almost back on topic!)

So I had called the rec center the day before and the recording said their regular hours for the break were 8am-8pm or something like that. they usually get the pool going an hour or so before and after opening and closing (can ya follow that?). I head there around 9:30ish and found the parking lot empty, all the lights off etc. called the rec center and low and behold they were closed completely from my b-day till Jan 3rd: ...great

I decided it was time to drive across town to find a pool....YMCA here I come. what did they say? $15 per visit! b/c I intend to go nearly every day until the rec center opens back that did not make very good financial sense for a jobless college student. I opted to goto the patterson park community center. (nice new place. never done anything but played pool, er...billiards, with neighborhood kids so I figured this gives me a chance to check it out....I didn't even know they had a pool till the chick at the Y told me.)

Back across town I drove, got there....yes they have a pool....yes they're cheap ($2 to use th center all day, and I can come and go as I please thru the ady) but they have a problem. their water heater has been busted and they just fixed it the night before....large public pools don't exactly warm up quickly. I decided to brave the icy temps just to find out (the moment I hit the water) that I should've brought my wetsuit! geez it was cold! but I was determined to swim laps, and so I did, at least until...

I FOUND STAPLES IN THEIR POOL!!!! I was so confused....had hypothermia set in? was I hallucinating? is that really a staple? and that over there? and that thing? ....after counting 11 staples in my lane alone I decided to get out and mention something to the life guards....did I mention that my lane (which was the deepest) was only 4 ft deep and that b/c this place was a communty center it was FULL of kids....the life guards took some push broom thing that I knew was completely useless (which I know from personal experience from when we had a pool) and they tried pushing all the dirt and staples toward the drains (yeah I"m sure that will help their water heater problem). anyway I"ve milked this story enough for this post. the way it turns out, the broom is only able to push like half of the staples, most stay put....since the lifeguards obviously didn't want to get wet and I was already shivering and turning blue, I decided to help by picking up every staple that poor guy missed with his useless broom, handed them to another lifeguard swam another couple of laps and decided it was time to go home.

I've been kinda in a not-so-much blogging mood lately and the stuff that's been going on I can't (won't) really blog about anyway. this little staple event however gave me enough ammo to write a post that was as normal as it gets in the batcave. hopefully their will be more stories in the coming weeks. until then, it's time for another dose of that day. I'm off for coffee with dad (the sun came up while I was writing this post) and then we'll see if the pumps are still working at the com center. oh yeah, and happy new year everybody! =)

Spaz-fit!

2005-12-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

...ever had one?

Luctor et emergo

2005-12-26T14:53:00.000-08:00

Well everyone Christmas has come and gone. Most people consider this their faverate holiday and for those of you who do I hope you had a very happy, memmorable and refreshing break. For people like me who are in the minority consider this, what's done is done and the stresses of the holiday has finally passed. Be happy for each day you are given and look forward to each coming day, especially now, b/c each day brings you that much closer to summer. For everyone my advice is this, use whatever break you have left to relax and enjoy the compfort of friends and family. The chances you get to do so are too few and far between to be squandered. Many happy returns to everyone! =)

"Alone" By Edger Allen Poe

2005-12-23T00:27:00.000-08:00

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

Be the Flame...

2005-12-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

...Not the moth

A message to you

2005-12-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

You make me sneeze...

So I finshed my 6th taco...

2005-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

after my final today I was visibly shaking....not from joy of completing my exam or fear of my last two, but because I had forgotten to eat (again) but drank 3 cups of coffee this morning.

side note: for those of you who don't know me well....by "coffee" I mean less than half a mug of coffee, about half a pound of sugar (or however much is needed to create the maximum possible sugar content that can be desolved into that amount of steaming hot coffee, to the point that there is literally some gelatonous sugar left in the bottom of the cup after stirring thoroughly), then fill the rest of the way with Sweet Acidopholous milk...the point being that I don't want too much coffee with my sugar....it's mostly for a little flavor, coloring, and a just a bit of caffiene. =)

So anyway....I was physically shaking right? so what did I do? start calling attractive women and asking them to goto dinner with me of course! not that I was trying to get a date, but I chose attractive women 1) so I would look good in public, and 2) so i could hang out with a good friend (who wants to eat alone?). anyway, since the divorce becca is too good to hang out with me, so I took nikki. I ordered my usual 3 tacos with no plants and an order of cheese dip.....finished off the chips and was still hungry...so I ordered 3 more tacos (soft shell this time).

As I finished eating my tacos (which were OH SO GOOD!) I had an epiphony! it was quite random but it occured to me that I was suppling myself with subliminal messages prior to taking each of my exams. while in my truck on the way to my exams I have been listening to the mortal kombat theme song over, and over, and over, and over, and over....you get the idea.

so anyway, the point of all that was to let you all know that finals makes me slightly homicidal. glad they're almost over with....I killed the first 2 exams, only 2 rounds left. LET MORTAL KOMBAT BEGIN!!!!

Dan's Game

2005-12-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I'm gonna try to do this, I have no idea what to put for these but we'll see what happens =)

Seven things to do before I die
1) sky dive
2) SCUBA dive in Australia
3) Live on a coastline
3) make my own potato gun
4) get struck by lightning
5) beat up a criminal to defend the helpless
6) continue to baffle the entire scientific community by living on my current diet to a ripe old age
7) own a stingray

Seven things I cannot do
1) float (air or water)
2) smell (except certain strong odors)
3) maintain a steady girlfriend who is sane
4) allow someone I care about to suffer alone
5) enjoy any type of english class
6) cook anything with instructions more complicated than "heat, while stirring occasionally"
7) anything that would be considered artistic or creative that does not directly relate to military or political strategy

Seven things I expect will attract me to my spouse
1) She makes me feel loved (despite my extensive flaws)
2) patient/looks at all sides of a situation
3) is genuinely and consistantly happy
4) cares for others more than herself
5) Enjoys my company without being completely dependent on me
6) Strong Christian without being judgemental
7) ok you know I have to put this just to be honest so i'll lump it all into one point: Face, eyes, neck, arms, breasts, tummy, legs, hair, smells nice, elegant but knows how to relax and doesn't mind getting dirty, somewhat athletic...in general takes care of herself physically, etc. =)

Seven things I say most often
1) babe
2) yikes
3) uh oh
4) MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!
5) don't fall in!
6) I have no idea
7) yeah right...

Seven books I love
I can't be very honest with this one b/c I hate books with a passion....
1) Entire Collection of Sherlock Holmes stories (annotated)....(yes it's one book, yes it is huge...it is also the only book I have ever voluntarily begun to read....b/c of summer reading requirements I was forced to set it asside and have not picked it abck up since....)
2) weather and it's works (checked this out at every required library time thoughout elementary school....after I filled an entire library card front and back the librarian noticed what I was doing and forced me to get something else....so I checked out something else along with this book....I only read this book)
3) Final Fantasy 2 (yes this is a video game and not a book but it involved 90+ hours of amazing gameplay and all conversations were text based....I was just learning...well refusing to learn....to read so my mom sat down with me and read the conversations with me as I played the game. this game is the only reason I ever learned to read. it was and is amazing!)
4) Lord of the Rings (I haven't read any of them but have listened to audio books for all 4)
5) Military Maxims of Napolean (I haven't read it yet....but I intend to!)
6) instruction manuels for a hundred various games
7) there is a book that I had to read as a summer reading requiement in like 8th grade. for the life of me I cannot remember the title. if it comes to me I will edit this post but I want to be sure to list it as one of my faverate books....not because it was a good book but quite the contrary....it was so horrible that I managed to convince my parents (both of which were city school system administrators) to let me invite several of my friends over for a massive book burning party.... it perished well. therefore it is a book I love.....or at least love to burn =D

Seven movies I could watch over and over again
1) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
2) Troy
3) The Chronicles of Riddick
4) Underworld
5) Batman Begins
6) HitchHiker's guide to the Galaxy
7) The Patriot

Seven People I would like to tag
1) Janina
2) Vin Diesel
3) Chuck Liddel
4) Randy Cotoure
5) Patrick
6) Sonneri
7) Nikki

I burned my water....

2005-12-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

So I was gonna make some hotchocolate and since I don't have a microwave I decided to boil some water as I have many times before....I then took a short break to look at facebook: BIG MISTAKE. not only did I get sucked into that but was distracted by talking to an old friend on AIM. to make a long story short, the next thing I hear is the fire alarm. I turn around to see my apartment filled with smoke....the pot I was boiling water in was not only empty but a significant chunk of the black teflon had essentially been burned off (I guess that's where the smoke came from). my black pot is now white and all I have to say for myself is...

yes Meagan, I burned my water. =P

another note on finals

2005-12-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

a note on my facebook wall left by a dive buddy. I thought I should share it with everyone =)

Twas the night before finals, And all through the college, The students were praying, For last minute knowledge.
Most were quite sleepy, But none touched their beds, While visions of essays Danced in their heads.
Out in the taverns, A few were still drinking, And hoping that liquor Would free up their thinking.
In my apartment, I had been pacing, And dreading exams I soon would be facing.
I drained all the coffee, And brewed a new pot, No longer caring that my nerves were shot.
I stared at my notes, But my thoughts were muddy, My eyes went a blur, I just couldn't study.
I'd nearly concluded, That life was too cruel, With futures depending On grades had in school.
Your teachers have pegged you, So just do your best. Happy Finals to All, And to all a Good Test

new game

2005-12-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

in the interest of needing stress relief for finals I've switched games at the bottom of the page. scroll down and see what you think. I may change it again later. also, the current video symbolizes how I truly feel about finals week so good luck all! =)

Be Nocturnal

2005-12-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

ok I just had to post about this, Has anyone seen the ads for the new Mountain Dew MDX? SOOOO AMAZING! I'm not a dew fan and I'm gonna start drinking them just because of the singing bat and koala. did I mention my faverate bird is the owl and flying squirels are da bomb? they have everything! the site I have linked to the title of this post takes you to a flash site where you can view the ads or play a silly taxi game where the animals are the drivers and their helping city folk learn about the night life. At the very least please goto the site and check out the ads...as of now there is 2 ads up (the first is my favorate but the second has more of my bat friend) enjoy!

The Weeks Ahead...

2005-11-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

And so we survived both Thanksgiving and Black Friday, congratulations to those of you still able to read my blog on your old computers. I say old because if you got one on black friday you were either crushed in a stampede of psycho people or you caught one of the laptops that was being thrown 20 ft into the air towards and angry mob of homisidal mothers. either way your new computer is broken and useless so to be reading this post you must be on your old one. =)

I don't really have much to say this weekend b/c this time of year things tend to start getting fairly stressful. sorry if I kinda disapear for a week or 2 but my laundry list of assignments is really starting to wear on me. I've narrowed it down to this:
French Rev and Napolean class: 20 page paper
US National Security Policy: 15 page paper (short but very difficult)
Survey World Civ: I can't find the length written down so I'm gonna guess 7-10 pages (book review)
Civil War and Reocnstruction: 5-7 page book review
that is of course not even considering Final exams which will be coming up very soon. at least I've done some work on each of the above assignments but not nearly enough.

again I shall steal a quote from Sonneri's away messages:
Due to the excessive work load, the light at the end of the tunnel shall be turned off untill further notice

oh yeah a follow up to my last post.....only dan commented, my love life is worse than I thought. I think I'd prefer it to be non-exsistant. (no offense dan) =)

Question...

2005-11-21T20:34:00.000-08:00

Will you marry me?

Frank's Rules of Drinking

2005-11-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

wow, I tend to get a lot of comments about my blogs on the phone or in person instead of on here....interesting....well at least I know you all care enough to read these random thoughts of mine and I do thank you for your time. as an encore to my last post and in response to many of the comments I've recieved, I have decided to write a post about my drinking rules (yes, I do accasionally ingest alcohol-containing beverages....the key is to drink responsibly and never become a drunkard...if you are anti alcohol for any variety of reasons: please refrain from attempting to smite me with your pimp hand of death, I promise I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me). anyway, just so you all know here are the rules i both follow and recommend. enjoy!

Rule #1
Never Drink unless you are already in a good mood to begin with! (drinking for any reason other than being silly and having fun with friends is a HUGE no no and will lead to VERY bad consequences, alcohol is a depressant and will not help you escape life's little trials and tribulations)

Rule #2
Never Drink alone! (can we say dangerous? nothing good can come from being intoxicated and having no one to share the joy with, not to mention if you start to drink a little too much there's no one to remind you that your judgement is impaired and keep you from doing very bad things....if you have issue with this rule you might be an alcoholic, please consult your friends or a counselor for advice)

Rule #3
Never take the first sip if you have anywhere else to go that night and no other COMPLETELY sober person to take you! (ok look, most people will go out to a resteraunt and have a few drinks, talk and relax for a while so they can sober up then they leave. I might catch flak for this but my personal opinion is that if you've even taken one drink you have no business being on the road the rest of the night. sure, you may really be fine, but the way I see it you have to draw a line somewhere and that's the only clear line I know how to make, so I take this to an extreme. if you want me to go drinking with you, I"m staying at your place, you're staying at mine, or someone sober is driving. If I believe you are too impaired to drive and you try to drive I will subdue you in one way or another. girls are not an exception to this rule.)

I have had people take issue with rule 3 before so allow me to clarify this a little....I have been told time and time again that when I drink I do talk a little more freely as everyone does, but alcohol affects everyone slightly differently based on their personality, physiology etc. Something about my personality and the way alcohol effects me prevents people from knowing if I've only had a drink or two....or if I'm almost drunk. there is no in between, therefore my friends cannnot safely judge exactly how intoxicated I am. considering I am intoxicated I have no right nor reason to be allowed to judge my own intoxication level considering that by definition my judgement is impaired. I know no one can make that judgement for me therefore I will not put my friends in a position where they have to. I on the flip side, refuse to risk my friend's life b/c they could have the same issues as me. bottom line, if you drink around me, and try to get into a car....if I have any slight reason to believe you're not ready to drive I will beat you to a pulp before letting you drive away so you better have your night planned out propperly.

feel free to let me know your thoughts. I'm curious if I'm the only person that drinks who is that strict with where and when I can. =)

Frank's shortest blog yet...

2005-11-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

I need a drink...

Thank you charles...

2005-11-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

...For not only making my toilet EXPLODE but also for flooding the entire bathroom area.....oh so nasty...

"the list" part 3 (I might catch flak for this one)

2005-11-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

ok, I've already recieved several comments about my checklists but it seems the consensus from the women is a need to know how to score high on the first checklist....let me reemphasize that the first list is only a means to get to the second....without a matching personality you have no chance....on that note I keep getting requests for clarification on what it is I mean by a combination of physical attractiveness combined with body language. since I did not provide links in parts 1 and 2 I shall provide one here. if you want to see a beautiful combination of physical attractiveness combined with perfect bodylanguage click the title of this post. I guarntee any guys reading this who I have not sent this to on IM already will want to see it. remember ladies, this girl may ace the first checklist, but she is performing and therefore could easily bomb the personality portion of the second. For any meaningful relationship the second list is far more subjective and more important than the first...

Also, one last clarification:
The personality check in the first list is superficial and based SOLELY ON FIRST IMPRESSIONS. In the second list is where you actually get to know each other and the guy has to consider your personality more in depth....you'd be surprised how adept women can be at tricking guys into thinking they're amazing but when you get to know them they're nothing close to what you're looking for... =) I suppose that's the point of dating in the first place! have a great weekend!

"the list" part 2 (backed by popular demand)

2005-11-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

People (but especially guys) tend to be very analytical. We often let our hormones guide and influence our outlook on….virtually everything in one way or another, that’s just a given. But you may be surprised how much of a science most of us have this whole courtship thing down to. Things are quite a bit more complicated than this but I believe I can illustrate the basics of what I’m talking about using a couple of checklists from a guys point of view. Guys, let me know if you think I’m on to something or completely full of it, and girls let me know if it makes any sense to you….if not I’m happy to explain in more detail but I’m trying to keep my blogs at least semi-concise =) ok here goes!

Before you know her checklist: (first impressions)

1. Is she physically attractive?

* Ok, we all know to some extent guys are shallow. But be careful, this is not the first thing on our list b/c we only want a trophy girl. This is the first thing on our list b/c from a distance your appearance is all we have to go by. Every guy has very specific and very different definitions of what physically attractive is. I do think it’s important to dispel a few significant stereotypes here… MOST GUYS DO NOT WANT A SUPERMODEL… We tend to want a girl who appears to take care of herself. Someone who has confidence, and is healthy; someone we would be proud to be seen with in public, but we don’t want a trophy girl. There are many reasons for this but in short we don’t like the competition and initially will assume you’re too flaky for us to waste our time with in the first place. Most guys won’t completely rule out any girl based on looks alone unless she is what I refer to as an extreme….extremes turn physical attractiveness into physical repulsiveness….No guy wants a girl who is significantly overweight but by the same token most guys also don’t want a girl who is underweight…. EVERY MALE I HAVE DISCUSSED THIS WITH AGREES THAT WE WOULD RATHER BE WITH SOMEONE A LITTLE OVERWEIGHT THAN A WALKING SKELETON!!! It’s a fine line, but once you cross it and become too thin all bets are off and the guy will move on. Also (you may not want to hear this ladies) but the clothes you wear only goes so far. Guys don’t care about the little things like what color and style your shoes are. We give you a quick once over in order to see the big picture. How pretty you are is determined more by your face structure, hair style, and personality rather than if your hair piece matches your shoes and belt….that’s a competition between girls, guys couldn’t care less. Clothes will have one of 3 effects for you. Well kept provides bonus points. Be a slob and guys won’t even remember seeing you within 3 minutes (or less). The third option is to look like a slut, in which case you know the type of guys that will actually approach you and it won’t be for a committed relationship, any decent guy will remember you but also pass you by. (if you’re skanky you’re not worth the effort of fending off the competition from guys who are only looking for a booty call rather than a relationship).

2. What’s her personality like?

* This is far more broad and WAY more important than physical attractiveness! If the girl is a stuck up brat or has a horribly annoying voice or uses other various forms of unwanted or unwarranted body language, she has lost SERIOUS points off the bat. If you can’t stand a conversation with her or she’s obviously a drama queen or otherwise high-maintenance she can be a guy’s physical dream girl and he’ll cross a busy street to avoid having to talk to her. Personality is definitely the most important first impression on the list. The only reason it’s not the first thing we check is because you can tell if somebody looks good at a glance….to determine personality you have to watch body language or have a conversation. I would say that basic personality traits are the strongest determining factor in whether a guy will pursue a relationship with you. Physical stuff may be what we check first, but this is the question that will make or break you in the guy’s eyes.

3. Is she interested?

* Look, we realize we’re supposed to be the one to make all the moves, but we are not mind readers and do not like rejection any more than you do! We will look for signals but if you’re not clear or don’t seem to give any signals; we may assume you simply haven’t noticed us and will likely pursue you until given a clear indication that our presence is unwanted. On the same token, if we’re not really looking for someone but you have peaked our interest we will start out by (attempted) flirting but if we get nothing back we will likely write you off and move on. If at any point you show interest later you will likely fall into the next checklist.

4. First impressions are over!

* Either something’s in the works or not, either way you have been placed into a “category” of sorts and as such you will fall under the rules of the next checklist.

This checklist gets far more complicated than I can explain on a blog. Essentially this checklist is a series of questions you must use to determine what type of relationship category someone fits in. The categories are innumerous and infinite as well as defined differently by everyone so I will not waste time trying to list and define them here. If you want to know where you sit in my “list” just ask, all of you should know me well enough to know I will bluntly tell you anything, all you have to do is ask! (just don’t ask if you don’t want to know, I’m still operating under the brutal honesty doctrine) =)

Once you know her Checklist:

What type of friend is she? Close friend, best friend, acquaintance, total stranger, just a friend. Various social rules may apply
What’s her personality like? Complex and by far the most important issue. Call and debate me about it sometime
How’s she look? Well kept or slob (seriously, to a point it is that simple! (Notice what type of girl doesn’t even make it to this list to be considered)
Are you attracted to her? Various types of attraction apply: physical, sexual, emotional, personality (in general). Basically just rate the girl on a scale of 1-100 in each category and let the numbers fall where they may
Would you like to be seen in public with her? Seriously, I’m not talking about a trophy girl here. For a real relationship guys need a girl that can hang out with the guys on occasion and not get him made fun of. This is determined primarily by personality but also by looks to some extent.
How does she carry herself? Confidence is important, goes back to personality
Is this the type of person you’re looking for? Again, this varies from person to person, if you don’t comply with what he’s looking for he will probably move on
Can you trust her? (ok I don’t know to what extent this question is universal but for me this question is EXTREMELY significant and in fact holds as much if not more importance than any of the others)

The “List” is a far more fluid and living entity than those stupid rules and terms for dating. Rest assured most guys will ask themselves these questions on a fairly regular basis throughout any relationship with a significant other. Some answers are more concrete (can you trust her) while others are extremely subjective and change frequently (often based on your most recent contact with the girl). From a girl’s point of view I guess what you should ask is not if you’re #1 on the list, but instead if you’re near the top. The top 2 or 3 positions on “the list” are the only ones that really matter and can easily change (especially for any guy who is single). If you’re in that section, the guy will likely be willing to date you. If you’re lower than that you probably haven’t been around the guy much or you fall into an “off limits category” such as a girl who dated the guys close friend, or girl that the guys friend is interested in, or someone who the guy could never see as more than just a friend. There are exceptions to every rule and a way into every guy’s heart, ya just have to find the door.

I will edit this as people make suggestions and corrections so please post your thoughts. I’ve tried to be broad enough to include as many guys as possible. Let me know what you think =).

"The list" Part 1

2005-11-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ok so more this semester than normal, I have been accused repeatedly of being a flirt. While I know this to be true, one of these accusations brought on an interesting conversation that I feel is worth sharing on a blog post. =)

I haven’t heard this so much from girls as I have from guys (which I find odd considering most of my friends are girls and girls are reputed to gossip more than any other form of life on earth), but it seems fair to say that people (especially anyone single) tend to keep a theoretical “list” ranking the people they are attracted to. In elementary school, many referred to this as the “love list”. Perhaps the distinction is b/c guys tend to be more analytical and objective in their thinking, and perhaps I have no idea what I’m talking about. Either way I know how things work in my head and I thought it might be interesting to try and articulate this for an audience. =)

I would like to argue that as we have grown and matured from elementary we have none the less kept this “list” throughout our development, however as we have developed more complex understandings of the world and more intricate relationships with the people around us, this “love list” has been forced to evolve. It is no longer a simple top 10 list of sorts, but is instead a complex matrix of interrelated categories whose boundaries and definitions are often blurry so that some people could potentially hold multiple positions in various categories, that is to say that I am going to make all of this up. =) hehehe…..

…Well crap, I just wrote a multipage dissertation on the various categories relationships can be placed in and decided the whole premise was too complex to explain on a blog (b/c I ramble too much mostly). So instead you are going to have to settle for a couple of checklists soon to come, lets hope I have more luck with them =)

Random game

2005-11-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

ok, everyone seemed to like my little google search game a while back so I thought I'd try something else. this one isn't quite as fun but I found the results....interesting. I will post my answers at the end in case anyone is curious....and don't worry, I took the chain letter thingy at the end off, so just have fun with it. =)

************************************
Try this but DON'T Cheat....it is really neat but DON'T CHEAT......

This is freaky as HECK...DO NOT CHEAT (You'll kick yourself later)

I was a little skeptical trying this, but if you follow
the instructions to the "t" you'll be surprised!!!! All
of my answers were accurate. We'll see tomorrow
if the wish comes true. I'll let you know.

Take 3 minutes and try this...it will freak
you out! The person who
sent it to me said her wish came true
10 minutes after they read the mail.

BUT NO CHEATING! This game has a funny/spooky outcome.

Don't read ahead...just do it in order! It
takes about three minutes...it's worth a try :)

First..get a pen and paper. When you
actually choose names, make sure it's
people you actually know and go with
your first instinct.

Scroll down one line at a time...and don't
read ahead or you'll ruin it!

1. First, write the numbers 1 through 11 in
a column.

2. Then, beside numbers 1 and 2, write down
any two numbers you want.

3. Beside the 3 and 7, write down the names
of members of the opposite sex.

NO LOOKING AHEAD...OR IT WONT TURN OUT RIGHT!

4. Write anyone's name (like friends or
family....) in the 4th, 5th, and 6th spots.

5. Write down four song titles in 8,9, 10,
and 11.

GO WITH YOUR INSTINCT PEOPLE!!!!

6. Finally, make a wish.
And now the key for the game.....

1. You must tell (the number in space 2)
people about this game.

2. The person in space 3 is the one that you
love.

3. The person in 7 is one you like but can't
work out.

4. You care most about the person you put in 4.

5. The person you name in number 5 is the
one who knows you very well.

6. The person you name in 6 is your lucky
star.

7. The song in 8 is the song that matches
with the person in number 3.

8. The title in 9 is the song for the person
in 7.

9. The tenth space is the song that tells
you most about YOUR mind.

10. and 11 is the song telling you how you
feel about life
***************************************
My answers:
1. 15
2. 36
3. Alex
4. Becca
5. Garcia
6. Charles
7. Janina
8. Everything I do (I do it for you)
9. It's the end of the world (and I feel fine)
10. Kryptonite
11. Truly, Madly, Deeply

Boys will be boys

2005-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Brandon came over. We were gonna play some games but I missed the semi-finals of ultimate fighter Monday and I realized they would rerun it last night, so I looked up the show times....not only did I find the show I missed but the last set of semi finals was being aired immediately afterwards! I was confused so I kept reading....it turns out the season 2 Finale is tonight! But better than that.... IT'S LIVE ON SPIKE! Brandon and I (later joined by Garcia and Charles) began watching the semi-finals.....2 hours later UFC unleashed came on (which is basically tapes of old fights that they air to get you pumped up for whatever big event is comming up).

While watching these shows brandon and I got a little excited and needed to vent some energy.....during commercials we pulled out some of my old sparring pads and we essentially sparred and wrestled to our hearts content.....keep in mind this lasted basically 3 hours. it was great! =)

after many various joint locks and accidental impacts I'm happy to say we both survived the encounter with only minor injury. My foot is bruised pretty bad from a lucky knee block and I think the blood has finally left his head from where I used a rear naked choke to take him to the ground. =) Brandon, you HAVE TO STOP DROPPING YOUR GUARD!!!! If we were actually striking I could've really rocked you a couple of times! =) all is well, I have the same problem.

The TUF 2 Finale is live tonight on spike if you're up for a rematch.... =) anybody else who wants to see the show feel free to drop by, I'll provide chips, cheese dip, and my trademark koolade! now lets just hope my foot heals.....man it hurts to walk! =)

now if I could just get that KIMURA down right....

I'm seriously spooked right now....

2005-10-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

ok, first off a small disclaimer for those of you who haven't known me since childhood.....I do not get frightened easily. I grew up... LAUGHING AT ....scary movies. Freddy Kruger was my hero! I've been to 3 haunted houses this year and I spent most of the time there either talking to the "gouls" or hiding in dark, smoke filled corners and jumping out to scare the poor defenseless girls I'm with. I'm an only child. sleeping alone is an expected, and regular occurance for me, it should be no big deal. Tonight however....I'm afraid to turn out the lights.

No one or major thing has happened to frighten me tonight. I have been able to easily come up with a logical explanation for every tiny thing that has gotten to me.....but the fact remains that for one of the first and few times in my life I am irrationally scared senseless!

It all seems to have started with a bad dream last night....well just before I woke up Sunday morning....this event is unusual in an of itself because I am no longer able to recall my dreams, good bad or indifferent. I'll joke about dreaming about this girl or that but truth is that the only dreams I have been able to recall in the last 5 or 10 years have been on nights that I was extremely emotionally distressed and yesterday was a surprisingly good and peacful day. these dreams tend to be very random and have nothing to do with anything going on at the time....last night I had a very vivid dream, I had complete control of my actions in the dream, but I was completely helpless to the events....in short the dream was extremely frightening....it dealt mostly with an odd combination of aliens and ghosts, and both were moving in the jumpy surreal fasion of the chick in the well from "the Ring". Even dreams like this do not usually frighten me b/c I can usualy control them and wake up on cue if I wish.....This dream got bad enough that I decided to wake myself up...several times.......each time I ended up back on my couch(not my bed where I went to sleep....but i have been known to sleepwalk so I didn't pay this much heed at first)....then I realized I wasn't really awake because I could not open my right eye....even using my hands to pry open my eye lids proved useless. Once I realized I had lost control of the dream, I became truly afraid. (What can I say? I'm a guy, it's always a control issue) =)

anyway, I obviously survived the dream (which was unusually long for my dreams....seemed to go on all night), and had a fairly good day. nothing eventful until Sunday night. the day was nice and warm so I was in a white t-shirt (I had spent the day helping Emily move Mike's stuff to her apt). I went to a "hoe down" at church and did not take my pullover b/c it had been so warm all day.....we parked, brandon, ashley and I started walking toward the festivities....and suddenly I felt extremely cold....something was just not right, I kinda started feeling more and more sick the closer we got to the entrance....I eventually asked brandon for his keys....he and ashley continued on while I went back to the truck. I layed down in the seat and stayed there until the hoedown ended and the other two returned...again this is odd behavior for me....

I left them with the intention of going home but remembered I had promised charles and Emily I'd watch a movie with them. I was feeling better and had been reunited with my pullover so I went to hang out (I figured I'd sleep thru the movie). of the movies we had to choose from we picked Blair Witch 2. (it's almost halloween and scary movies are my comfort zone so why not?). Allow me to say that this movie did NOT scare me....the first half was a little errie but overall this was a fairly tame movie in comparison to most of I have seen. We watched portions of the movie that had been added in a way that you only notice them in reverse and watched clips of stuff that was supposedly edited out like a pentogram shape apearing in some dressor drawers, and some other really eerie stuff that honestly I'm a little too freaked right now to try and type them out. really tho the movie didn't bother me. it was after the movie....I started getting that cold feeling again. I told charles and emily bye and before I stepped outside I was having chills.

again, for those of you who don't know me quite so well.....i'm not the most observant when it comes to something like....the color of shoes some girl was wearing 2 days ago.....but when it comes to walking around outside at night I am hyper observant. it's like a game to me to see everything I can and look for places that I could hide or jump out at someone if they were walking where I was at. This is not a new concept to me and it partially why it is so insanely difficult to seriously startle me. I usually see people coming long before they even know I"m there.....but tonight......tonight instead of gleefully thinking "oh if some guy tried to jump out from that spot to mug me, this is how I would kick their tail"..... instead of that I was thinking "there's nobody there....or is there......what's that?......where'd that come from.....what was that sound.....is someone behind me?" I was majorly paranoid and I don't know why. I approached my truck very cautiously and checked the bed to make sure it was empty. while doing this I suddenly felt a drastic temperature change....it was already very cold out, but suddenly I got VERY warm.... I was actually sweating... as I got in my truck I had to check the back seat to make sure it was safe for me to get in. once I finally got up enough courage to get in my truck, I found myself not only checking my rearview mirror constantly to make sure i'm alone, but I was also watching the corner of every building I passed in case some ghost kids came running out in front of me. The lights were weird too.....like every light in this apt complex was on....but nothing was well lit.....all the lights seemed to be half powered and many were flickering. I made it to the road (still checking my mirrors for who knows what to be in my back seat) and there were few cars....of the cars I saw, there was at least 2 instances where I saw a car comming up in the distance and either there was no car, only headlights....or one second there was a car, and the next I was alone in the road again. about this time I noticed a splinter in my finger at an odd point....not to mention I had not dealt with or touched anything wood until returning to my apartment to write this blog (my computer desk is oak). Where did the splinter come from? my rubber steering wheel perhaps?

so anyway, I made it back to my apartment...pretty weirded out but regaining my composure. I was safely at home again. I looked up at my windows to see that all my lights were still off (I"m compulsive about turning off everything but my computer and the monitor turns off automatically). The windows were dark....no hint of light thru my thin blinds....I started my climb up my stairs.....no wind.....none......as I turned around in the breeze I thought I saw the reflector light on my bike flash but no, it was still off....just my imagination again.....I unlocked the door and slowly opened it......the room was FLOODED with red flickering light.......Why is my apartment suddenly the gateway to hell? I forced myself to open the door the rest of the way and found the source of the red light.......FLAMES!....dark horrifying, menacing flames......on my tv screen.....ok I was relieved that it wasn't real fire.....but remember how compulsive I am.....when I was last in the apartment was earlier in the day with charles, he and I played God of War on my ps2.....we had a big long convo about turning it off.....he tried but doesn't know how b/c he doesn't usually play ps2....instead of turning it off he reset the system.....so I made it a special point to walk over....and turn it off from the main switch in the back of the system.....while down there I turned off the tv (which was still on the video channel so it turned black when the ps2 was switched off).....this was a very deliberate event....I cannot explain how my tv AND ps2 both were turned back on....

I proceeded to come to the computer (after turning on every light in this apartment) and began looking for someone.....anyone to stay the night with.....alas I am still alone.....Special thanks goes to Rebecca Box for helping me keep my sanity long enough to write this blog. Janina seemed sad that I hadn't updated yet this weekend so Janina....by reading this I hope you know the dedication I have to my audience, rethinking these events right after experiencing them and while my heart rate is still spiking is probably not the wisest move on my part. =) anyway the story is not quite over yet....

While writing this blog....the spot in my hand where my splinter was began to bleed....about half an hour after I removed it......I have heard a loud *thud* every so often comming from somewhere in this building.....not a neighbor slamming a door.....a thud.....like a bag of sand.....or a body.....being dropped to the floor somewhere on the second story......I have also forced myself to go poty so my bladder wouldn't burst in the night.....it's almot good that I live alone b/c I left both doors to the bathroom wide open so I could see anything that might move (can I say that it is really scary to be sitting on the pot and then you look up and see a dark silluette looming....floating....above the ground, just to realize it's not the spawn of satan....it's just your wetsuit hanging in the closet)..... also while writing certain portions of this blog I have left several things out b/c as I began to type them I got a powerful cold chill rush and began shaking.....I had to IM becca to regain my composure once as well. I know there is logical reasons for everything that's happened and that most of what I have noticed I have only noticed as a result of my own paranoia. but like I told becca... this is not like me....I am a rational person and am rarely "frightened" by anything, but th truth of the matter is that even if it's all just in my head....the symptoms of being scared are nonetheless real. I should not be so worried about sleeping alone but tonight....now that it is officially "all hallows eve".....I truly do not want to be alone

Ode To Sonneri's Away Message

2005-10-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

We all read everyone else's away messages....for some people (like me) it has become an obsession and a perfectly good way to waste some time. You can really tell a lot about what's on a person's mind based on their away messages. it's like being good at reading body language and facial expression. they are like gateways into your friend's souls.....ok so I'm taking it a bit far but you get the idea.....anyway I would like to share with everyone one of the best away messages I have ever read. This is a message frequently displayed by my friend Sonneri. it goes a little something like this:

"so i didnt have an away message about homework. and since i dont like hw, im now going to call it gutting a fish. therefore, i am around here somewhere... gutting a fish"

Frank needs...

2005-10-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I got this idea from a friend's website. goto google and type "(your name) needs" in the search box then list 5 of the funniest things you find. for example:

Frank needs "to have a good criminal defense to beat the charges"
Frank needs "Sensitivity Training"
Frank needs "To grow a spine"
Frank needs "neck massages" "good food, and comfortable furninture"
Frank needs "a woman"

Let me know what you find =)

My weekend with Janina

2005-10-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1 – intro and background info

This post is likely to be long (sorry) but is in no way a comprehensive expose on the events that took place during fall break….instead of detailing the intricacies of the most wonderful break I’ve had in years, I shall attempt to highlight some key points pertaining to the first couple of days of this trip b/c they should be the most entertaining to you my loyal readers. =)

You see, Janina is a surf-a-holic….to the extreme (don’t worry she will take the title as a compliment)… She and I planned for me to come visit her for my fall break. She had a couple days off beginning prior to my planned arrival date and needed something to do with her time….you see when the surf is flat (as is often the case in the gulf of mexico) Janina becomes a very melancholy individual. This particular weekend gulf surf was not only flat….but if there had not been a sandy beach I could’ve mistaken the area for percy priest lake. My dear Janina had saved up a little money and decided to go on a little road trip to the Atlantic coast prior to my arrival. She would have a 5 hour drive back whereas I would have a 7 and a half hour drive to her house so the timing would be perfect. Unfortunately she had a bit of car trouble….it seems her alternator kinda died as she neared St. Augustine. I received a call asking me not to leave the next morning until speaking with her. We needed to make sure she could get back to Niceville (the destin area of Florida) before I came down. Later the next day when she had her alternator repaired and was ready to begin her trek home, she called and let me know I was clear to head down to meet her in Niceville….. I then BEGAN packing and was on the road within the hour. (I was expecting to be at janina’s house by 4:00pm but that is actually when I left my parent’s house). So anyway, I’m getting close to half way there when I get a call from a desperately sad Janina… Her vehicle….lasted about two hours…..then died again……she made it from St Augustine to Lake city. She agreed to let me meet her at the motel that her vehicle was towed to for the night and began to try and find directions to get me there (I did not have a map in my vehicle….yes I’m dumb). She found a way to send me thru various Alabama and Georgia back woods roads….giving me only one wrong turn (which is impressive since neither of us had any idea where this might lead me). About 1am I called Janina to tell her I was too tired to safely continue driving and had exited the interstate and found a motel. My intention was to stay there for the night….This phone call obviously confused and slightly worried a deliriously sleepy Janina whom I had just woken up. About the time she figured out what I was saying I went ahead and told her that I was standing outside the door to her room. =) [insert hugs and conversations of best friends who haven’t seen each other in 10 months] we then went to bed, with the intent of getting up early the next morning to find a mechanic.

Chapter 2 – enter the “mechanic”

We arose early the next morning with intent to grab a small continental breakfast at the motel (consisting mostly of some coffee, blue berry muffins, and some flakey cereal). We then proceeded to the gas station across the street in search of help (the motel attendant was essentially inept). After various conversations with both the gas station attendant and a couple of local customers Janina managed to extract the phone number of a gentleman who it was supposed could assist us….I do not recall the gentleman’s name but he was kind enough to offer to meet us in the motel parking lot (where Janina’s poor rodeo was still stranded). Immediately upon arrival he begins to inform us of something to the effect of “oh dat thur is too new fer me to work on, I’d just change tires. Dat thur has a compooter and stuff. Anything that new ya’d better get a real mechanic for. Here let me give my friend Deeter a call. He a good mechanic. I’m sure he can come help ya out.” Now do not mistake my attempt at typing out his accent, this gentlemen was extremely nice and given our predicament could’ve really tried to rip us off. Instead he took pity on us and we opted to trust his kind offer of help from someone who was far more knowledgeable in automobile workings than himself.

Chapter 3 – enter Deeter

Now this is where things pick up a little. Janina and I had been left with the impression that “Deeter” was only a couple of minutes away and would arrive shortly, but to be on the safe side his friend (the first man) gave us Deeter’s number in case he didn’t show up (Janina and I exchanged what was to be the first of a series of worried/confused glances throughout the day). Approximately 40 minutes later, Janina and I are still sitting on the curb of the parking lot in front of her room eagerly awaiting Deeter’s arrival. We agreed that one of us should call him and that honor fell to me. I dialed the number and Deeter’s wife (other various “in-law” titles may also apply) answered the phone. I asked to speak with Mike Deeter and she promptly gave him the phone…..he was still at home. Later we found out that he had just woken up as the first man called him so we can not begrudge his tartiness….it was merely a miscommunication….anyway Deeter informed us he would be with us in about 20 minutes….sure enough he showed up right on time! (Janina and I had become quite cold and gone inside to wait on him….) so we now have a “mechanic” who is looking over her car. I must admit as best as I could tell (given my limited personal mechanical knowledge) he appeared to check the vehicle’s electronics fairly thoroughly. He tested the battery, the fuses, various wires at different connection points…..complained about sound system and theorized it was her problem the whole time (which we determined later was a ridiculous claim). Once I was able to jump start her again he tested for voltage and we determined that her battery was not being charged…..at all…..so much for that “new” alternator.

Chapter 4 – Deeter’s graceful exit

After some minor debate we determined our COA (Course of action) for the day….Deeter agreed to replace our alternator, we merely needed to acquire one that works. (sounded simple enough). In the mean time we would relocate Janina’s vehicle to Deeter’s house (not the shop which we had supposed he just came from). There Deeter would remove the alternator for us to take with us to the local parts houses to insure we bought one that would fit her vehicle. With this new plan in mind Deeter recommended we used my truck to charge Janina’s battery enough to drive to is house (which was supposedly just around the corner). We did so, her vehicle started and ran fine but b/c of the enormous power drain and limited charging time we new she would not last long, getting her to Deeter’s house became a race against the clock. I jumped in my truck and backed out, prepared to follow Janina should trouble arise on the road….Deeter took off next in order for Janina to follow him to his house…..it was at that moment Janina and I realized Deeter was having trouble getting his truck started….she respectfully waited in her spot for him to get his engine going so he could pull out of her way so she could pull out…..a couple of minutes pass…..I am still sitting in the parking lot poised to bring up the rear of our caravan formation, Janina is still pinned by Deeter’s truck….Deeter (our mechanic mind you) continues to turn his key relentlessly trying to start his truck…..his truck begins to roll backward further down the hill and into parking spaces on the other side of the lot……he continues to turn his key…….an occasional puff of smoke informs me that not only is Deeter destroying his own starter….but he’s pumped the gas enough to flood the engine…..so barring any other difficulties he still would have to wait a few moments to be able to start the truck……Deeter’s engine continues to crank but to no avail…..I text message Janina of my findings (he’s burning up the starter and flooding the engine….and this guy is our mechanic)….she eloquently responds with the simple yet telling sentence “He does not inspire confidence”. As enough time passes that I am finally forced to exit my truck and begin walking toward his, Deeter opens his door, and begins pushing his truck further into the spaces behind him and out of the way….at this precise moment Janina’s battery dies and she exits the vehicle to join Deeter and I. Did I mention that our mechanic just burned out his own starter motor and flooded his engine incessantly while claiming to be able to repair her vehicle? At this point we knew it would be a very long day….i’m gonna skip a small bit but essentially We try charging janina up one last time (not for long enough to matter, and mostly to appease Deeter). Deeter hops in my truck and we leave his vehicle stranded in the motel parking lot. He grabs a couple tools from his truck, including a tow chain and we are off to Deeter’s house!

Chapter 5 – The Trip to Deeter’s house

The Road directly in front of the motel was being repaved. It is difficult for me to describe without drawing illustrations so suffice to say it made for a difficult dynamic of dodging cones, workers, paving equipment, bull dozers, un even lanes, and enough traffic to make anyone under our conditions a bit nervous… especially since we could not tell which lane of cones was meant to be driven in…..so we begin our trek to Deeter’s house….make it less than 3 minutes down the busy road under heavy construction when janina’s rodeo again proceeds to die. She was able to pull over into what we hoped was a lane not meant to be driven in. I did the same then backed up to her vehicle….Deeter hooked us together with his tow chain (around my bumped rather than the load bearing strut beneath it) and we proceeded to cut off traffic, dodge workers, and slowly find our way off the main road. After 3 more turns down side roads we came to Deeter’s place of residence. Somehow we made it without losing either my bumpers or Janina’s (she displayed impressive breaking skills in order to not run into my truck which was pulling her a distance of less than 6 feet behind).

Chapter 6 – Deeter’s house

I’m starting to get tired but want a thorough post so forgive me if I jump around a bit, I may try to edit later. Anyway, we are now in Deeter’s backyard. (ya know those “ya might be a red neck if you park your car in the yard” jokes? Picture like half a dozen various vehicles not including 3 tractors and a couple of old RVs….not to mention various non matching furniture pieces placed in a circle near what I assume was the “office building”) Deeter and I (with Janina steering) push the Isuzu toward Deeter’s shop. He takes the alternator off and begins asking us where Janina bought it and reminding her that it should be under warranty. We quickly realize that…under the impression that her car was fixed….Janina decided to get in an hour of surfing before making the trip home (big surprise)….unfortunately the Ocean decided to eat the receipt which she had left in her pocket…..so much for warranties

Chapter 7 – the hunt for the elusive alternator

We managed to get Deeter (I just love saying that name) to give us directions to a near by advance auto parts. After a long session of the guy behind the counter practically tripping over his own tongue as a result of Janina’s beauty, we managed to get him to not only have the alternator tested (to make sure Deeter wasn’t wrong) but that poor horny guy checked the computer and called every advance auto parts store in the ENTIRE REGION. The best he could do was have another refurbished one sent in from Jacksonville and it would not arrive until 11:30 the next day (an option that was not acceptable to us)….I should probably take a moment to note that the alternator that janina had bought in St. Augustine was actually from a private shop that bought parts from an advance auto in Jacksonville….meaning Janina has to return the alternator to that guy and only he can return it to advance auto for a refund….we’ll deal with that issue later…..it may also be important to note that a refurbished alternator (which is apparently common and far cheaper than a new one) costs approx $160…..so anyway, we continued all around lake city trying to find anyone who might have an alternator that would fit (under the assumption that as hard as the advance auto boys were trying to help us(her) they probably only called other advance auto stores in the region). We checked with autozone who called the local NAPPA for us and eventually went to some auto dealership (Pontiac I believe) and asked them for help. After trying to swindle Janina into trading her vehicle in for a new car we got a hold of the mechanic in the back who was able to help us track down the closest Isuzu dealer in the region. We called said dealer and were able to locate an alternator…..now let me add this price note…..anyone who knows a little about auto parts can tell you (as we found out) that getting parts from a dealer is in general a BAD idea…..good b/c it’s a new part…..bad b/c if it’s not refurbished it costs quite a bit more….(I believe this alternator was running for just under $400). After discussing our options Janina and I decided it was in her best interest to buy the new part so we know it’s not a piece of crap and so we can get her home…..and so begins the rest of our Saga

Chapter 8 – the dilemma

We learn from the Isuzu mechanic that there is in fact 2 possible models of alternators for her year and model of vehicle but only one or the other would work. They had one of these alternators but the only way to know if it works is to give them her vehicle’s exact vin number. To make matters worse this dealership closes in approx 2 hours and it is about a 2 hour drive away. Not only can we barely make it in time if we leave right away, but we don’t know if the mechanic will be willing to wait till we return before working on the vehicle. Furthermore it is after noon and this point and our breakfast has long ago run out. Neither Janina nor I was in any condition to drive for 2 hours with zero blood sugar and an empty belly. You also must remember that we need to go back to the mechanic’s house to get the vin number….as he has gone with his wife to pick up his own useless truck from the motel parking lot….can we really make this trek in time? We have to try!

Chapter 9 – the race against time….hunger….and hill billies

OFF TO DEETER’S HOUSE! We go, we get the vin number. As we’re on our way to the interstate Janina calls for more precise directions to this Dealer (did I mention the Isuzu dealer is in Jacksonville?) We realize we have to get food before I wreck the truck so we stop off at Taco bell. (Jerks screwed up my order). We got our food and ran. Back on the interstate we begin to dig in. Since Tacos are not the easiest to prepare and eat while driving Janina was kind enough to assist me. The teenagers who made our food not only didn’t give me extra meet but covered my taco’s with sour cream….SOUR CREAM!!!! YUCK!!! Anyway, the sweet heart that Janina is….she scraped off all the sour cream she could and I tried to force myself to eat those….things…..meanwhile I’m driving like a bat out of hell trying to get to the dealership parts house before they close….luckily we called to let them know we were on our way and running late so they were willing to stay open a little longer for us. We got the alternator and raced back to the mechanic (at this point we were just desperate to get her car running so we could go home). Long story short, we made it back to Deeter, he put in the new alternator, charged us $80 for labor and we were finally on our way home!

Chapter 10 – epilogue

The final drive home was supposed to take a couple of hours….normally such a stretch is nothing to Janina or I as we both have horrible memories of many sleepless nights making the 2 hour drive between huntville and the boro. By this point however she and I were both thoroughly exhausted and had to stop frequently to stretch and wake each other up. We both did a lot of swerving on that last stretch home but we eventually made it safe and sound. And thus was our adventure. Thank you Janina for allowing me to share some memories with you that I’m sure neither of us will soon forget.

On a lighter note – twirling my stick

2005-10-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I have an unusual pass-time. I like to twirl sticks. I try to find an outdoor and mostly private area, and I take my stick and I go twirl it. Anything from mop handles of various materials to tomato steaks to bean poles to baseball bats and my personal favorite, the broken handle of a post-hole digger! Anyway, unlike swimming or running or other various activities (which have the same relaxing effect to most people that stick twirling has for me) I find that stick twirling can also make for an excellent self defense practice…..albeit you are unlikely to have a big stick around when you need it but if one happens to be there you’ll have a distinct advantage! =) ok, I was still fuming over issues discussed in my last post a little and it translated into an unusual (and foolish on my part) stick twirling session earlier today….I went to my parents house and there is a huge oak tree outside my room…..this time of year wasps come and take various things to build their winter home (which is often in the tree itself). They seem to come en masse and collect dead leaf pieces or small pieces of bark from fallen limbs to construct their homes…..wasps (if you don’t know) can be fairly temperamental and territorial. You do not want to be stung/bitten by a wasps (bad idea)…..anyway, I had a couple wasps try to chase me off this morning…..this gave me an opportunity to not only reflect on issues from my angry post but also gave me a way to physically express those frustrations…..I proceeded to test my stick twirling capability and my precision….I am proud to say that several wasps did not survive the ordeal of challenging me and my big stick, and I escaped un-stung =) I kinda felt like a jedi….it was so cool! =)

FALL BREAK!

2005-10-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

Ok this has been a LONG and stressful week for most of us.....I really have a LOT of stories to tell ya but the truth of the matter is it's past midnight and I'm driving to the beach in the morning! WHOO HOO!!! anyway, looks like you'll have to play with my little cursor game at the bottom of the page and look at my optical illusions until I get back and have time to properly update this thing. Everyone remember my mom's 2 rules for life this weekend: BE SAFE, and BE HAPPY! take it easy everyone. =)

Sorry...

2005-10-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank my loyal viewers and apologise for the optical illusions in my current video. if you view them all you will understand why. I promise to remove the clip soon so if you want to trick your friends hurry and send them to my blog!....Meagan is gonna kill me if she see this =)

Try the game!

2005-10-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, I thought it might be beneficial to provide some mindless entertainment for my viewers. Try the cursor game at the bottom of this page. see how long you can last and post your best scores here!Just to give you a mark to start at, i'm half asleep and got to 1187, I know you can at least beat that =)

I'm getting the hang of this!

2005-10-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

Ok again this post will have very little information that is relavent to anything. I just wanted to update my limited yet loyal fan base on my progress with this site.

As you all know, I have no time for a social life during the week. The microscopic amounts of free time I have are spent trying to force Becca to get a bite to eat with me. She is my one source of non-class related human contact and in case you're reading this Becca, I love you very much. Everyone knows i'm insane anyway but without you I would be completely off my rocker by now....*end tangent*

Anyway, the point is that if I have no free time during the week to meet new people and hang out with beloved friends, what in the heck makes you think I'll have time to update this thing during the week? Alas, my blogging activities are limited to weekends, and this is therefore my first update!!!! YAYYYY!!!!!!! ok enough of that crap lets get down to business...

I have been playing with the code for this blog thing and learned a few neat tricks. you will hopefully notice I have updated the way comments are both viewed and posted on my blog. Any suggestions and advice to this effect are extremely welcome. This may be the Bat Cave but I want my friends to feel at home with the look and feel of the site.

also I have learned how to "steal" flash animations and videos from other websites (as hopefully you noticed upon checking this page). In order to avoid hurting the feelings of sites who's work I may steal, I shall be giving them credit for the videos I temporarily post. Also, I will add a link into the title of each of my blogs that should take you directly to the homepage of whoever I stole the video from. if I start getting nasty e-mails from webmasters I may have to alter my stance on this topic but for now it will do!

Any suggestions, comments, gripes, etc, ad naseum are more than welcome. If you have ideas on how I can improve my sight please let me know and each weekend I shall endevor to make improvements....I hope to eventually add a few java games, polls, and possibly online quizes but for now. this will have to do. HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND! =)

The First Bat Blog!

2005-10-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

Backed by popular demand I have succumed to the will of my loving public and decided to make a blog....if for no other reason so I can post comments on everyone elses blogs!

I shall endevor to keep this blog as random and entertaining as possible but only time will tell how often I actually post anything. Rest assured their will be an occasional "deep thought" inspired by various daily experiences from the point of view of THE FRANK.

First I shall be experimenting with the look of my blog and trying to figure out how the heck this site works. in the meantime please visit the link below and do be patient with me, I am fairly internet illiterate. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE