:/

I

Out.

Confused, mad, I'm gone. Night driving time.

That actually helped a lot. Just in a weird/bad mood, randomly felt pretty upset. My roommate had a lot to do with it, and just other stuff. I don't want things/people/friends to change I guess. Sigh. Good day otherwise.

College.

The past two days.

Wednesday: Woke up early (feeling like P.Diddy, well not really, I doubt P.Diddy is tired and all unkempt in the morning), hung out at Shafer and had some vegan eats with Stewart. Gotta say, SmartDogs are delicious. Aftewards we just chilled and hung around Monroe Park and walked around Richmond, until we met up with some of Stewart's dormmates who wanted to hit up the Deadbeat/Heathens show that night at The Warehouse. Me, Stewart, Mike, and about 7 other guys and girls walked down there, gotta say, Deadbeat was awesome, even with some idiots there. Aftewards, we walked back, and hung out with Ian for awhile, but had to leave to let him "watch some movies" with his gf hahaha, so we went out and met up with Tres and played with knives and whatnot, then I just came back and crashed.

Today: Woke up really early for my first class, Mass Comm. Huge class, 180 kids, but it was cool, I kinda like that for the mornings at least, honestly at 9:00 i'm not trying to be extremely active, I just wanna chill and absorb the material. Anyways, I ended up picking up Ricardo and Ben, and we (plus Stewart) walked through the ghetto (crackpipes on the ground, toilets on the sidewalk) to get to Vinyl Conflict, which is an awesome punk oriented records store. Well worth the...interesting...trip.We met up with some other friends after and chilled at Shafer Court and ate at some sweeeeet Mexican place, best burritos. After I met for a stats class, we hung out in The Underground (VCU chill spot in the commons), headed down to Cary Town, then ate at Shafer later. Finally I was able to drop some laundry at home which was nice haha (muchas gracias to my mom for doing it for me).

To summarize: College = fun. New friends = fun. Shows = fun. Classes = bearable. Missing girlfriend = :( Missing other friends = :(

Day 2.

Busy day to say the least. Woke up late at like 11ish, and had to head home to pick up some final stuff, still gotta pick up my guitar but that's not a big deal. After I got back to VCU, me, Stewart, Mike, and Josh hung out for awhile. We ended up skipping out on freshman convocation haha, good start to school right? We had fun though, hit up 711 (we've already been there like...5 times in two days), got some sweet punk shirts at Rumors, then me, Stewart, and Mike met up with Tres and some of his friends and saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. 2nd time i've seen it, still awesome. After that me, Stewart and Mike hit up EXTREME PIZZA. Actually it might be spelled XTREME. How cool is that. The pizza is decent too, no vegan stuff though, which is a bummer. After that we just walked around Richmond for awhile, checked out the Cary Street Gym (awesomeeee) then ended up going to a party at Kirsten's apartment on Grace street. Stuff got a lil crazy to say the least, and we ended up leaving after a few hours, not tryin' to get in trouble y'know? At around midnightish, we ended up running into a gang of hardcore edge kids just chillin' and heckling kids around Shafer Court. They noticed out band shirts and called us over, and we made some new friends which is cool. Now I'm just chillin' in my room. Definitely a good day.

Other than that, all I really have to say is that while I'm having fun, college still is bittersweet. I miss my girlfriend a lot. Sucks that I can't just say "Hey, wanna hang out?". But, we'll make it work. I look forward to visiting her and partying it up at JMU haha. I miss all my friends who've moved on too, and even though I'm 30 minutes away, I miss my home and stuff. People assume that just because I'm still in Richmond that I don't have the same sort of transition, but I really do. Yeah it's close, but it's still tough getting used to living on your own and being self sufficient, to some degree at least.

First Day in College

Well today was my first legit day on campus. Class doesn't start till thursday, but today's the first day i've been here all day and I'm finally sleeping in my dorm. I got here fairly early this morning, and just hung out with Josh for awhile and listened to music and played some games and whatnot in the dorm. Met one of my suitemates, Ricky, cool dude f'sho, and I'm diggin' his beard. This afternoon me and Josh met up with our friend Taylor and one of his amigos and we rolled down to Shockoe Bottom and checked out some sketch head shop that Taylor was interested in haha...it was...alternative. Not exactly my thing but it was fun and I got a cool tshirt out of it at least. Aftewards me and Josh met up with Michael and we ate at Shaffer Court for the first time. Suprisingly, my meal of jalapeno hot dogs, chicken, and mashed potatoes was actually pretty good. Sounds pretty unhealthy, but I think I worked it off. Me, Stewart, and Michael took a 6 or 7 mile walk down to the canal and just chilled by Brown's Isle for awhile and talked guy stuff, it was really fun. We came back, checked out a vegan pizza joint, then chilled back at Shaffer in the courtyard for awhile. Now I'm back in my dorm, just hangin', getting mad at the kids next door and stuff, good stuff.



Still considering transferring, I'm gonna apply at least to JMU, but today was fun on the most part f'sho.

Sigh.

I hate/suck at goodbyes. I'm gonna miss her.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Tomorrow I will officially be a college student. At 2pm I'm heading down to VCU and moving in to my dorm, not staying there until Monday though until everyone else moves in, but still. I'm excited but nervous also about making friends and finding my classes and stuff, but it'll be okay and hopefully everything will pan out.

In other news, the past few days have been awesome. My birthday was great, spent time with a bunch of close friends, and played music. Good times right there as always. I've gotten to hang out with my girlfriend a lot the past couple days also, which has been awesome. She gave me seriously an amazing birthday present, a DVD of a bunch of my friends and her friends telling about what they think about me and stuff. It really meant a lot to me, especially with a bunch of those friends moving away for school and stuff. That day we met up with Gray's family and went to Texas de Brazil...Kim in particular fit in really well in the fancy restaurant atmosphere, especially when tongs came into play. Today was great too, spent most of the day downtown, picked up my college books, checked out some hipster stores, had awesome pizza at Bottom's Up, and walked around, it was really fun! Then tonight we just hung out and watched movies and had ice cream and talked, which is always good especially with her...I'm gonna miss her, we're still dating in college and I'll see her on breaks and when she wants me to visit, but still.

On a more somber note, I had to say bye to Gray, which was pretty sad to be honest. He's been such a good friend since I first met him in middle school. I feel bad, I kinda take him for granted sometimes I think because he lives right next door, but I'm really gonna miss him. I also had to say bye to my friend Kathryn, which was a bummer too. I didn't see her as much as I had hoped this summer, which was lame but still we had some good times, and she was thoughtful enough to write me a letter for my birthday which was awesome, definitely gonna be pen pals in college haha. Goodbyes always suck.

A day in the life.

Me and Ricardo armwrestling^

Haha nevermind, editing the original post. Not mad anymore, originally thought I was missing out on hanging out (at a fairly reasonable time) and seeing a friend before she goes off to college, which I am I guess, and I'm bummed about that, but I guess my mom not wanting me leaving at 3am is fairly understandable now haha.

Overall the past couple of days have been fun. Yesterday I hung out with Kim, Ricardo, Kosta, Dylan, and Tucker, which was really cool. We all went to Ricardo's restaurant and caused a ruckus and laughed at Tucker's creepy wallet picture, watched some Dexter in La Casa de Diablo (Ricardo's house is freakin' hot), had Brusters, and then just hung out at my house and danced/moshed, listened to tunes, had an arm wrestling contest, played trust, had my toe cut open, got some tats....all in all a good day with good friends. Today was more chill but still fun. Did nothing pretty much all day other than taking care of some college stuff, then tonight I hung out with Kosta, Ricardo, and Gray. We just hung out, watched movies, got some interesting texts, and talked about girls, food, fatness, fighting, the future...a good bro-out day.

Good times. I'm gonna turn 19 in a couple days which I guess is cool, but overshadowed by me feeling kinda bummed about everyone moving off to school and the general hustle and bustle and melancholy of the end of the summer. I'm excited but at the same time I'm going to miss people and the way things are. It'll all work out I suppose.

I can't do anything right.

A day.

Today turned out to be fun. Had an eye exam this morning (whaddaya know, my vision still sucks), ended up getting some snazzy Ray Ban specs though, so it's all good. Just kinda chilled this afternoon, which was nice I guess. Tonight I went to see my friends band, Envoy to the Open Fields, which turned out to be a fail because I was late and missed them. However I got to check out Groove Juice, which was an awesome jam band. Such good musicians. Afterwards, I raced around with Josh for awhile, then met up with some friends at Chipotle. Pretty much it, just headed home and chilled after. Decent day.

Burn my bridges.

You know what annoys me? People with an unjust sense of entitlement. I don't care who it is, or what station in life they occupy. You come into this world the same as everyone else, kicking and screaming and with no dignity. Funny how people forget that as soon as they accomplish something or rise to a position that society has deemed to be powerful or respectable. This can be an issue with police officers, thinking a uniform makes them better than those they serve, lawmakers, politicians, teachers, whoever. Entitlement can cause problems even on smaller levels though. People take things for granted, like friendship for instance, and feel that they're entitled to being treated nicely, even as they walk over you, because of a history the two of you share. Funny stuff. Had a person who I used to call a friend run into me tonight, and he later messed with my car, which isn't really a big deal, but then made fun of my friends and who I was with, and somehow felt angry when I told him off. Apparently he felt entitled to a kind response even though he didn't dignify me with even a civil one. Really frustrating stuff, left me wanting to hit something.

Sorry. Deep breaths. I don't usually get mad.


Otherwise, it was a pretty good day; got college shopping finally all done, hung out with a few good friends, watched a good movie, cruised around, went to Waffle House...fun stuff.

Memorable.

Why this picture you may ask? Because 1) this is a happy looking, content kid. Both of em actually. And besides a couple things I've been a happy, content kid this week. 2) the name of the website where it apparently originates makes me laugh. Also the kid looks like he has twine around his arms. Twined sausages.

Busy week so far.


Monday: Band practice with Will and Grayson, then sleep over/almost wing challenge/stand up comedy with Will and Gray. Good times, chill day.


Tuesday: BEACH STYLE BAYBAY. Richmond hardcore reppin' it at VA beach. Sand mosh. Traffic two steps. Awesome POA/Tiger's Jaw show that night too. One of the best days this summer for me.


Wednesday: Slept in really late, lunch with mi madre, helped set up and threw down at the Pushing On/CCP/Deadbeat show that night. Small, rough group of people there but still fun. Hang out at the Village Cafe with Ian and Grayson afterwards.


Thursday: Busch Gardens with Kim and Ricardo, awesome. Rode all of the good stuff cept Apollo's Chariot (thanks rain and lightning). Bottom's Up afterwards mmmmm, then hanging out at Ricardo's.


Friday: Really relaxed day, which was nice. Just hung around at home, wrote some tunes and talked with Grayson later on for a little bit, but mainly just chillin'. Kinda needed a day to rest, it was good.


Saturday (today): Got to hang out with Kim, which is always good, we've both been kinda busy this week and haven't seen each other all that much. We just goofed around, gorged ourselves on mexican food and ice cream, almost saw Inception again hahaha, and watched some movies. Really good day as always with her...I always say this but I'm seriously fortunate to have someone like her, not to sound sappy, but yeah, just saying.


This sums up today:


Eric: He's searching for her pot of gold right now...
Kim: Eww Eric you're disgusting!
Eric: What!? What'd I do?
Kim: What you just said!
Eric: Huh?...So? I didn't say anything!


Fits of laughter.


Really awesome week, seriously.

BEACH STYLE

Outrageous fun. Me and about 18 - 20 other friends all rolled down to Virginia Beach today, both to just chill at the actual beach and support POA at a show with Man Overboard, Averman, and Tiger's Jaw. We took 4 cars down, and of course I was a driver, and as should be expected, I got myself lost on the way to VB, but managed to catch up with everyone else quickly, so it was no biggie. Not too bad of a drive honestly, even with my friend Alex peeing in a gatorade bottle and throwing it at a truck. Once we got there we shotgunned some Arnold Palmer, played with knives, and two stepped in traffic, typical stuff, then headed down to the beach. Really nice day to be at the beach, plenty of waves, sunny, not too hot. We all swam and rode the party waves and played football and stuff, good times.

Afterwards we pool hopped to clean off, then went down to some pizza place. Really good food, maybe just cause I was starving but still. Next the whole group headed down to Skate High for the show (we barely made it, speeding through VA Beach kinda sucks but we had to make it on time). Cool venue, it's basically a pretty big indoor skatepark with a stage set up. After we helped POA set up, they played; really really good set, and everyone in our group threw down, pretty awesome. The other bands that came after were awesome too, Tiger's Jaw in particular was great.

After the show, everyone helped pack up, we hit up Mickey D's, and headed home. The ride home sucked, 50 minutes at least in stop and go traffic, awful. That and I could barely keep my eyes open, big thanks to Taylor Swift and Akron Family and Arnold Palmer for keeping me up.

Overall one of the best days I've had this summer. Can't go wrong with a day of beaching it up with friends, punk, and general craziness. Awesome.

Downer/Upper/Whatever

Picture completely unrelated, anyways...



Downer: Sometimes I suck (that's what she said) at conveying my feelings. I either hold things I feel inside, which I'm getting a lil better at not doing i think, and end up in a bad/frustrated mood because of it, or just mess up trying to explain what I mean. Kinda aggravates me, but hopefully the general intention of what I'm trying to say comes across as planned. Wish I was more eloquent or something...eloquent's not the right word but it's closest to what I mean. Maybe "expressive" is better. Dunno...oh well.


Upper: That's pretty random though, considering I've been really happy all summer more or less. Couple things have bummed me out I guess at one point or another, but that's regular for anyone. The past few weeks in general have been great; honestly this whole summer has been awesome.




Everything's pretty much fallen into place. I'm happy with myself a fair amount of the time, I've been seeing my friends a bunch, made new friends, gone to a bunch of awesome shows, and all of this while being lucky enough to have someone who I can pretty much tell anything, and who honestly seems to care about me and what I have to say, even when I'm being lame or annoying. It's funny; I've known this person for two years, and had basically constant contact with them, but I'm still just as excited and interested everytime I talk to her or we hang out as when we first met...not many people I know who I can hang out with all day then talk on the phone to for hours on end at night and still have plenty to talk about. We've done a ton of awesome things together, and even though we're going to different colleges, we're gonna stay together and try to make it work.

Life is good.

Also, Pho Tay Do. Check it out. Any young whippersnappers looking to take their date to a classy restaurant with 5 Star staff, amazing "fried shrimp/wonton" (read: fingernail/noodle - brain) soup, and clean air with NO SMOKING...NO SMOKING...NO SMOKING (this time, in crayon!) need to look no further than Po Tay Toe. Highly recommended.


Also, last word :)

Today ->

Today was great. Woke up feeling happy and rested (went to bed relatively early, aka 3:30am, pretty amazing I know), found out I had to go lift some heavy stuff to help a family friend move but it was cool. I ended up getting a record player and mini fridge out of it so that was awesome, and I don't mind helping anyways.

Later, Kim came over and we ended up checking out the Museum of Fine Arts down on Boulevard. It was way cool, saw some weird stuff, made fun of paintings/people, found a fine metal rod in the parking lot...huhuhuh. All in all a really good time o' course. Next we headed down to Galaxy, had some deep conversation, laughed at little kids running into doors, got scared by flushing toilets, all that jazz. Typical Galaxy stuff.

After eating we checked out all the swanky houses around there, especially the Ferris Bueller one, that was shweeet. On our way back to the West End we stopped in to see a kinda creepy abandoned shack near Kim's house, which was alternative but cool. Then we went to Deep Run Park and goofed off on the playground there and the "AbstractPlayground", where I managed to make Kim sick from spinning her on the tire swing. Great boyfriend. After that we had a slightly awkward trip to Brusters, headed to Blockbuster, got a chick flick (which was actually good, yeah I said it) and relaxed and talked the rest of the night (in about 15 different accents).

Really good day.