Saturday, December 18, 2004

I'm Home, Finally

After a 6 hour train ride, I am home back in Chicago. Traffic, pollution, rudeness is all part of city life at its best. I feel good to be home, glad to be done with my first semester away at college and proud to be a Chicagoan. Do I miss Carbondale yet, a little bit. Come on, it's Saturday morning at nearly 1 am and I am not drunk, I've only had a couple of sips of some wine, that is it. Tonight, there was no Cherry Pit, followed by Jimmy John's, followed by the morning after meeting next door with my suitemates. I miss my suitemates Hoos and Vinny and the whole gang on the 14th floor. I'll miss random nakedness running down the halls and drunks wandering in and out of my room at random times at night. But being a college student is the best of both worlds. Freedom while living on campus, but structured and mature lifestyle at home. I love it. One month until I go back to C-Dale! That's it for tonite, it's just good to be back where I am loved and wanted.

Friday, December 17, 2004

It's Over, Finally Over. And Now, Just 13 hours Until I am Back on My Way Home

It was the first time in a long time in which I looked forward to going to sociology. Not because of some girl, or some test, or being excited to learn. I was excited because it was my the last of my finals, and I knew that when I finished that I would officially be done with my first semester of college. The test seemed easy, but that most likely means I paid good attention in class and was prepared. But that is besides the point, after the test, I was done. I had an ear to ear grin and I jumped and clicked my heels happily. I called my mother and left her a very happy message. I called my father, who seemed to be very proud of me. It was, for once, a good day to be me. Breaking news, my day gets better, I HAVE AN A IN ENGLISH! Me fail english, thats unpossible? Yep, unpossible indeed, LUIS ACED ENGLISH! My writing skills are the gift and the curse. I just stood in the hallway and yelled I GOT AN A! IT'S THE GIFT AND THE CURSE! I called my friend Calla, who quickly stole my thunder by saying,"Me too, I got an A too." I said "You just couldn't give me my moment could you." She was happy for me that I got an A, as am I that she got an A. She's probably the most awesome, without a doubt, person I have met since I have been down here in Carbondale. Whatta gal! Okay, so back to my day. So, then I sold my books, and spent $61.40 on Christmas gifts for my family. I hope they won't get mad that I spent so much. But it was for them, so I felt it as being necessary. Then I came back to my room and celebrated, sure, my music was loud, but for once, I didn't care, because I was done, and I was purely, legitimately and genuinely happy! My roommate is gone, and I have the room to myself, I hope it'll be like that next semester too, I would finally be able to live in peace. We had our ups and downs, with more downs than ups, and my roommate coulda been better and treated me like we've known eachother for years, instead of treating me the way he did for weeks, but he, like I will get over it, and things will get back to normal, hopefully, they will one day.
My Reflection
Wow, this college thing has been an experience to say the least. It has been a long time coming since the first day, as a lost and confused freshman. The only person I knew was my roommate, and that scared me a little bit, but I knew that because of my personality, I could get along with many people, and I would once again be happy. It all goes back to movie night with Sarah, the girl that John, my roommate, helped with carrying her stuff up 14 flights of stairs. We watched Rocky Horror picture show. There, we were introduced to Matt, Steve and Sarah's roommate Kristin (who would later be known as Boobs, Left Field among countless of other nicknames.) The first night we were introduced to drunks, one in particular was Alex, who stormed into their room claiming it was his. Let's see, the 1st party night, I remember it like it was yesterday (kinda). All I remember really is that we left John at another party on College Street as me, my friend Jake, Sarah, Kristin and what seemed to be a myriad of others paraded to the "House With The Red Light" party. That place was great while it was opened, before it got busted. The bartender chick was drop dead gorgeous. A 10, a fucking 10, instant wood! Perfect face, boobs, everything. Out of this world kinda gal. They made some awesome drinks, reuniting me with one of my original loves: the lemonade-vodka. That is when I started drinking, again. The 1st night, 2 naked chicks made out for a crowd, at the time, it was an amazing sight, but it pales in comparison to everything else that I have seen and heard since I have been down here. I made out with some chick at the "Red Light" after buying her a drink after she called me the devil. "Would the devil do this?" followed immediately by tongue down the throat. "Red Light" is where I also got really acquainted with my suitemates Hoos and Vinny, Jameel, Keith, Calla and who else knows. It was meant to be, all of us, to be together as friends. There were many times in which I wanted to quit and leave because I didn't feel like I fit in, or the stress of being a college student got to me, or my friends (who didn't make it easier on my by missing me) wanting me to be home, or the Cubs, those damn Cubs choking didn't make life easier, but I got through it, like it was a movie. I fought the power, and it felt good. I moved on to the Cherry Pit after Red Light got shut down. I spent many a dollar and many a night at cherry pit. That is where I got my most drunk. Twice at the pit, once with my cousin. But I spent half of that night at pit. Pit is the shit. It is drinking, dancing and partying rolled up in one. It's scent is unique to say the least. Liquor, sweat, must, weed, cigarettes, perfume and cologne and other unnotable scents combined to make the ultimate scent: Essent of Pit. Pit is where I made out with two chicks at once in a three-way kiss. I don't even remember how it happened. Oh, and to note to anyone who is reading this, I usually don't kiss and tell, I'm just doing it now as a reflection. But to close this reflection, I feel that I have come full circle in this first semester of college. From shelled, timid, freshman to open-minded, fun freshman who loves all and cannot wait til next semester. I will miss this place while I am gone, thanks for the great memories Southern, I'll be back expecting more next semester, and for the years to come. I would honestly like to thank all of my family for helping me through first semester: Mom, Roy, Jenny, Mama, Titi, Kristin, Jessica, Doc, Papi, Courtney, Cissy, Squeaky, Titi Sharon, Tina and all of those I have forgot, thank you for being that support beam that I needed during first semester. I would also like to thank all of my friends for making this semester the most fun 4/5 months of my life: My roommate John (dispite our problems), my suitemates: Vinny and Hoos; Marcus, Vino, Steve, Jameel (my best friend South, the dude who always listened to my problems, took care of me when I was drunk and woke my ass up when he got high with John the day before I had a test in my english class--love ya dawg!), Keith, Donnell, Daniel (my "barber"), Gabe, Julian, Ethan, Mike and Ryan for drunken entertainment and for introducing me to everclear; Larry, Josh, Yoav, Carl, Charles (I love Cards fans); Sharon (and her friends Meghan and Ally), Morgan, Lindsey, Row, Maggie, Shari, Sara and Betsey from across the hall, Lora, Christin, Shari, Trisha and Eve, and Kaity aka Corndog....Selina, her roommate Taylor and their friends Todd and Roary, being drunk among you people has been a blast. I would like to end this by thanking my favorite girls in the entire world: Sarah- for understanding how much "The Booty Mix" means to the life of a college student and for pretty much crowning me "The King of the Burned CDs/Booty Mixes". Kristin for being that entertaining drunk on the first night after getting buzzed of one Pina Colada and for later in the semester making me proud. You go girl! Calla, even though I hate the Braves cuz they eliminated the Cubs, the fact that I am a Bears fan and your long-lost brother Brett Favre, the fact that your Uncle Randy is a 6'10" lefty for the Diamondbacks you have been the best person I have met down here. Despite what you think, personality means a lot in life and will get you far, and you have the best personality I've met in a long time, if not ever. Anyone who loves baseball and appreciates baseball as a sport is a friend of mine. Ruthie, for being the person I envy the most. You are always so happy, I wish I could be that happy all of the time. When I see you happy, I seem to get happy, it rubs off on all of us. Your artwork is amazing, keep it up. Brittany, for being my study buddy in Media, for listening to my crap while you had to deal with your own and for being a great friend. You will be missed at Southern, have fun up north. Hope I'm not missing out anyone, if I am, I am sorry. See ya next semester.
P.S. Mr. Weiss is the best english teacher, he put that class in my wheelhouse and I hit it out of the park. All writing, all the time. Media in Society was a boring class if you sat in the back and didn't pay attention. Waste of my time and money, hope I did good. SPCM 101 aka Speech aka Chinky's class. Chinky aka Satoshi, was the best teacher ever, dude was the bomb and we had the most laid back entertaining classes ever. And finally, Professor Benford, whose sociology classes usually had me walking out of them wondering why I took the time to sleep and wake up from that sleep to go to class. It pained me when you dissed the Cubs, but was the greatest day to see the BoSox sweep your pathetic Cardinals out from the World Series. You got beat by one cursed team, guess who is next (hint: go 300 miles north and find the Kings of the MidWest, last years pretenders will be this years contenders, mark my words Cards and Cards backers). But to give you this much, your confrontational style led to entertaining classes and me meeting more fun people in section.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Wednesday Night, 2 Days Left and 1 Final To Go

Happy Hump Day everyone. Wednesdays usually suck because I have 3 classes to go to and I usually don't want to go to at least one of them. But today was different, after a short night of stressful, paranoid, worrisome "sleep" I got up and sat around all morning. I helped a friend unpack her room, and I went to sell a book back and took my 3rd final of the week. After that I took a nice walk to the COMM building all the way across campus. I made some realizations about this 1st semester as a college student. I realized that college life is not stable, not everyone stays, for example my friend Sharon down the hall is moving out, and that's sad cuz I'll miss her fun spirit a lot. I'll see her when she visits and when I go home on vacation. I'll also miss Brittany, my study buddy. She helped me get through a lot of stressful times while I was down here, and on top of that, she was having stressful times of herself. Her happy aura was what helped me feel better about college life. I'll be honest, when I first got here I was worried. I was worried that I would have few friends and that there would be no one around to care about me or be my friend. The only person I knew was my roommate, and to be honest, and I know he feels the same way about me, he's not the most pleasant person to be around all the time. But I've made so many friends that have helped me get through the bad times, and were there for the good. I'll miss them next year, but I plan to keep in touch with them, for I have forged genuine relationships and friendships with all of them. To all my people leaving me behind at SIU, I salute you all and in one way or another you will be missed. If not by me, by someone.
1 More Final And Then I am Outta Here
I can't wait, it is my sociology final. It covers only three chapters, but it is a very important test, it could make or break my grade. I've aced all of the papers, but I've gotten Cs and Ds on my tests. This grade can solidify my grade as a High C or low B or could just settle my grade towards the bottom of the pack. After my final, I am going back to the COMM building to hand in my application to work at the school paper. I have no experience, and that will most definetly hurt me, but I want it so bad, I'll do anything to get it. Then, it is back to the student center to sell my last books and I will be done. I will also hand in another job application to work at the student center bookstore. I need a job so badly, it will make my life and my parents life so much easier. They would have to send me less money, I would have extra money in my pocket and it would definetly keep me busy. So, for only the second time in my life, I am looking forward to having another job. I can't wait til this school year is over, because as soon as it ends, it is back to the city I call home to watch and worship my favorite baseball team. I'm sick and tired of the St. Louis Rams football team and those pesky, hated Cardinals. I can't wait to get back to what truely is a civilization

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Tuesday Night, 11:50, One Final Tomorrow and Today Went Too Fast

Today went too fast and i didnt get to do what I wanted to. I went shopping today, I got some of my Christmas shopping out of the way and now am damn broke. All my money is now in Chicago when I finish all of my Christmas shopping at home. I gotta shop for my mom, my pops and anyone else. I rewarded myself today by buying a Nomar Jersey on sale for $10 bucks, you can't beat that with its original price slated at $25. I Love Nomar, and will be glad to see him back hopefully to win a championship. I wish I could have slept all day, like my roommate usually does. How cool would that have been? A long day of peace and relaxation. But I went out and got stuff done, how totally awesome is that. I'm trying to ignore my women problems in my life just so I can get through finals week without adding drama in my life. I can't have that on my head and finals too, thats asking too much. I wanna get my feelings out there but don't want to be rejected. Thats just asking for stress, and honestly I feel that I'm stressing about that now, so I'm gonna drop the subject. Time is now 11:57, I'm tired, bored and sexually frustrated. Welcome to the world of a college student!

Monday, December 13, 2004

Monday Night, 2 finals Down and 2 to Go, still 4 days left though

It's cold down here in Carbondale, damn cold. It is the capping of a very interesting day. It actually started unnecissarily early this morning when my roommate came in high as hell and woke me up, as it is a usual occurance. So, I got to wake up to that, and then we were feuding on if the heat should be on or off. Windows wide open 30 degrees outside, breeze comin in the room and he wants the heat off. Like he's some type of arctic figure. I'd turn it on, he'd turn it off and it went back and forth. I froze last night and dried up. He got heated up this morning and dried up. Only 4 days left of this. So, lets go on with the day and I sold a book. A book that I spent like $30 on and I only got $8, what a rip-off that sucks big time. So, I spent a lot of today pacing back and forth down the hall. I was so bored because my finals were split throughout the day and it seemed like no one was here, so it was me and myself with the floor as my pearl. I was so bored, I decided to make a couple of CDs, cuz thats what I do when I'm bored. I ended up making a couple because people love the jams I put on my CDs. I put some raw ass slow jams, damn near cuts on my CDs. The ladies love my CDs, its cuz I'm the man and I know what they like in music. I'm the Slow Jam Man without a doubt with my so-called "Booty Mixes". I love college, you get a reputation just because of the music you listen to, you gotta love it. Well, lets skip to 7:30 on my way all the way to the other side of campus for my communications final at 8. A final that late, that cold, that dark and that far away should not be allowed by law. Well, its better than having a final at 7:50 am like some people I know. So, I got back from my final about an hour and a half after it started and my floor, as usual was an interesting site. People were either drinking, sleeping or high. Some were studying for finals, yes, but they were in the minority. Presiding over those who are messed up is some of the most fun stuff I've ever been a part of in my life. I love taking care of the drunks because kids don't say the darndest things, drunks do, and they will defend everything they do and say forever and ever or until they are sober. People who are blitzed (high) are just as fun. They get paranoid as hell, they can be attacked and won't be hurt no matter what you do to them. Then they say stupid shit when they are trying to be serious. Like John Madden who right now just said "They tried to pull a Miraculous-Musical-City." Not the ever-so-famous in Tennessee lore "Music City Miracle", yet it is the Miraculous Musical City. Only Madden, that man makes no sense, he isn't the best, but he is the most entertaining. I had a lot of stuff on my mind to talk about, but its tough to talk to people who are drunk, sleeping or high. Yet, it is entertaining. Time at the tone is 11:53, do you know where your children are? I do, you know why, because I'm taking good care of them. 2 finals down, 2 to go and almost 3 more days

Midday Monday, 4 Days Left

4 days left, put it on the board. Its Monday at the midday and it's one final down 3 to go! One paper to turn in, all I gotta do is print it and I'm done with english. Even if I didn't do that paper and hand it in, the worst grade I can get in that class is a B. I love writing classes, they are the best. Had it not been for that class, I would not be writing this because I would not know about Blog and I would not have an outlet to speak to. I really don't care who reads this or if anyone does for that matter, its like having a public journal. But back to school, I got one more final today, 8 pm all the way across on the other side of campus at the Communications Building for my SPCM (Speech Communication) 101 class final from 8-10 pm, that should be a joyous occasion. But afterwards, I'm going to get pizza, so it is well worth the walk. So, what do I do to relax before the final, well I just go about my day the usual way. Wake up, shower, watch some SportsCenter, get online and read my Sun-Times, take a look at my fantasy teams, check out any news on my Cubbies and put in some music on my way to class. Lets see, music for times like this. Good sleeping music includes Jack Johnson, I ain't never heard of this guy in my life until a couple of months ago when I asked someone to make me a CD with some relaxing music. Dude's got it goin on, very mellow and very calming, its all I need to deal with all of the stress that comes with school and college and life in general. Before tests, no sleepy music, straight crunk music does the body good before the big game or a test because it gets you pumped up. Get some crunk in yo system, maybe some hip-hop danceoff music gets it going sometimes too. Eminem's Mosh and Lose Yourself are awesome songs to listen to right before the test too. Get pumped and stay focused. Now, to the Monday Morning Quarterback.

SIU LOU, THE MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
  • Peyton Manning needs 2 to tie and 3 to break the single season touchdown record. Not only is he doing football a great service, he is doing me a great service. Even though I don't have Manning on any of my fantasy teams this year, I do have his favorite targets on my teams, so nothing makes me happier to see a Manning-to-Harrison on a deep post route, a Manning-to-Wayne connection deep down the sideline, a Manning-to-Stokely the White Boy connection in the slot splitting the defense. How about Manning-to-Clark/Pollard in the Red Zone. The only one it hurts is Edge, and by the end of the game, they are running out the clock and Edge still gets his 100 yards. Here is to you Peyton Manning, the MVP of my fantasy team, even though you are not on my team.
  • The Bears are done, dead, caput. Chad Hutchinson is not the savior, yet he would be an adequate back-up, hell he could start if he had an offensive line. I hope the Bears management takes a deep look at this season and diagnoses what they have and what they need. We have 3 good quarterbacks: Grossman, hope he gets better health wise and on the field. Jeff George and Chad Hutchinson are good enough back-ups. Jonathan Quinn needs to go out and run a Citgo somewhere and Craig Krenzel proved to all of us that Ohio State hasn't produced anything since Mike Doss or Eddie George even. Craig, do us all a favor and go and find a cure to some uncurable disease and stay away from the team, unless you want to be the team doctor. Craig Krenzel=Joe Germaine=Loser from THE Ohio State University. The Bears need to either incorporate a 2-back system in which Thomas Jones and Anthony Thomas, or as I'd like to call them Thomas Thomas, share the backfield, a double-threat backfield would be nice. The Bears need a left tackle, a healthy pair of guards and someone who can stretch the field and catch the ball. In the NFL, they like to call them wide receivers. Their defense is solid everywhere except Hunter Hillenmeyer, good of the bench, should not start. The Bears defense should have 4 D-Lineman, 2 linebackers (Briggs and Odom), 4 DBs (Tillman, Azumah, Brown and Grey/Green) and Urlacher is his own position in which he roams the field looking to kill.
  • Teams in football I have come to hate include the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins and the St. Louis Rams. Why these fatal 4. Green Bay is an overrated one-man team who everyone licks their ass because of Brett Favre. Favre can lick my ass! The Panthers are always looking for a fight, why, because they can't beat anyone on the field. So what they have heart, well they won't after Mike Vick runs all over them...AGAIN! They hate Vick cuz they can't have Vick so if you can't beat him, try to kill him. Too bad they can't even catch him. And the Rams, they like getting it Rammed in their ass. The greatest show on turf isn't football, it is bitch ball, they have one of the best of all time in Marshall Faulk, but instead they let the QB throw the ball randomly and usually ends up in a turnover. And their genius coach is nothing but a Dick Vermeil wanna-be whore! And the Dolphins, even though Wannie is gone, that 72 perfect team can all lick my testicles! Sorry for the obscenities, but I'm listening to angry white folk music, so I gotta go....HOLLER!

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Sunday Morning, 5 Days Left

5 days left with Finals week in my face as if I was a snack and Finals week was Shaq. Hey, that rhymes, funny how I can think when waking up sober for the first time in a long time on a Sunday morning. It was weird seeing people come back in the wee hours of the morning drunk, tipsy and high while I was trying to enjoy some sleep in my sickening state. As usual, the congregation met in my room and later moved next door. Silly drunks, but ya gotta love em, cuz at one time (actually, many times) you were with them, among them and one of them. I finished my English paper last night, and I feel really good about it, because it is now one less thing for me to stress or worry about. And of course, finals, along with some new found life drama has made this week potentially a little more stressful. Why does all stress in life come from school, work and women. They all come together. School stress comes from wanting to succeed to get a good job when you get out of school. Then work stress comes from either working harder than you should be or working too hard to make things good in life, to live comfortably. Now living comfortably is a good thing to work for, do not get me wrong. But I've been around people who have always told me go to school so you don't have to work as hard as I do to live comfortably. Now, my favorite stress is women, because it is a stress that you cannot control. You can control school's stress by doing your work, studying and doing good in school. Not waiting til the last minute is always a good thing. A friend once told me "Procrastination is like masturbation, it's all good until you realize you're fucking yourself." You can control work stress after school success. By getting a good education and following it up with a good job that is well paying, lessening the stress. It is a lot harder to control work stress, but it can be done in some cases. I can't control women stress, for me it is impossible. I've had bad luck with women for a long time, I think its part of that damn Billy Goat Curse. It's gotta be, those curses hit everyone up that it touches in many ways. I did grow up 3 blocks away from Wrigley and a frequent visitor of Cubs games and avid die-hard Cubs fan. I was 3 when the Cubs lost it in the 1989 playoffs. I was 7 when the Cubs let Greg Maddux go to Atlanta. I was in 7th grade when the Cubs broke my heart and got swept by the Braves in the 1998 playoffs after winning game 163 to win the Wild Card. I was end of freshman year and beginning of sophomore year when the Cubs led the Central division until September and dropped it like they had no hands. And then there was 2003, the best year of my life. Cubs vs. Yankees. The split of the Crosstown Classic. The elimination of the Cardinals by winning 4 out of 5. The absolute choke of the Houston Astros against bottom feeding Milwaukee which opened the door for the Cubs to win the division. That was the happiest day of my life, September 27th 2003. The Cubs sweep a double headeer with Mark Prior and Matt Clement clinching the division after a loss by Houston who hosted Milwaukee. I was at home, alone, but happy, celebrating with "We are the Champions" playing throughout the house and I was talking to everyone. I wish I was there to celebrate, I probably could have died happy that day, without a care in the world. Then, the best game that I have ever been to in my life capped my year. The series versus heavily favored Atlanta was tied 1-1 with pivotal game 3 being in Chicago where Cy Young (Mark Prior) faced Cy Old (Greg Maddux, former Cub). In a game that was delayed by the rain, Prior dominated as the Cub fans taunted the Bravos with our version of the Tomohawk Chop, it was the Bear Claw Maul. Come on, what more threatening, an Indian with an axe or a gigantic Grizzly bear hungry for a championship. I'd piss my pants either way. Back to the game though, when Prior finished that game, I was convinced the Cubs were going to win the World Series that year. Not next year, not next century, THAT YEAR! The Cubs won that series 3-2 in Atlanta and the celebration took place all night at my house. Then came those damn Marlins, those damn Marlins that I loved because they played hard, now they were here to play my Cubs. We got off to a hot start with a 4-0 and it looked again like we were going all the way. We lost that game 9-8 in 10 innings. We won the next 3 games to take a 3-1 lead to game 5 in Florida the day of my mothers wedding. The alcohol and the women took the pain of the loss away, but we were all sure the Cubs would win it in Chicago, it was as if they planned it that way. It was meant to be as the school bus I was on during a field trip passed Wrigley Field and the bus full of students randomly started singing Take Me out to the Ballgame at the top of our lungs. I was sure we were gonna win it tonight, and with my mom in Vegas, I was ready to go down there to celebrate. It was 1-0 until the 6th inning when the Cubs put up another run to make it 2-0. After shutting them down in the top of the 7th, even Sox fan Bernie Mac claimed the Cubs champs singing "Root, root, root for the Champs Champs!" instead of for the Cubbies. That gave me a bad feeling, but why, Prior was getting stronger and I was on my way to celebrate. When I got to the stadium, it was 8-3 Marlins, and all hope was lost. I missed the next day of school sick. Sick because I got caught in the rain and in the cold of earlier that day, and sick because that was the feeling that Cub fans had in 1945, 1969 and 1984. But this year was different, we had Wood...Kerry Wood. And at one point in game 7 we were winning 5-3 after Wood and Alou hit homeruns. I was convinced laying in my basement bed that we were gonna win. Then it all collapsed from there, and the Marlins won. Just like it all collapsed at the end of 2004 and the Cardinals, not the Cubs like everyone predicted, won the NL and gave up the Curse Breaking win to the BoSox. That gave me hope, Why not Us? 2005 style! I just hope that one day that the Cubs can take me back to that happy place again. What does this have to do with stress, women, school and 5 days left. Not much to the naked eye, but to me, it all ties together somehow, someway. Be there for the drive in 2005!