TREASURES!

So I'm back in Hays going through all of the boxes that I brought from California trying to find all of the things that I need to take to my new place. I'm specifically looking for a couple lamps. But, of course, whatever you are actually looking for you never find.

However...

I have come across a treasure trove of memories and nostalgia. As I was putting away some DVD's into my dad's entertainment center, I found a bunch of cassette tapes going back to the late 70's.

There were some actual tapes from recording artists. A copy of MJ's Thriller takes the cake for best tape in the box. While a tape of Milli Vanilli's Girl you Know its True takes the prize for the tape that I'm most likely to be listening to right now. Hint: I am.

Don't even lie. You know you were rocking out to Blame it on the Rain. Wow, remember those Africa medallions? FUCKING SWEET!

Other than listening to people's voices that don't belong to Rob and Fab, I discovered a bunch of tapes that my family recorded when we were children.

My childhood was always in a state of flux (which is probably the reason I'm pretty much game for moving or trying new things). While my mom moved to the US for work my dad decided to keep his ophthalmology practice in the Philippines for a while longer. So, we would live in the US with my mom for a couple years, then go back and live with my dad in the P.I. for a couple years.

I actually spent Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 5th and 6th grade in the P.I. This probably explains my "fobnation" and could be the reason I've decided to grow out my hair.

Quick hair update: My emo bangs are slowly creeping to the tip of my nose. I can almost do the Panteen shake of my head to get the hair out of my eyes. I have no idea how I'm suppose to style this thing, but screw it, I've let it grow this much in the summer, I'd might as well keep it through the winter.

Back to the tapes. So, as we moved from continent to continent, we would record tapes for whichever parent we weren't living with at the time. When I first found the tapes I was wondering where I could listen to them. With the change to CD's then to digital, Walkman's are extremely hard to come by. Thankfully, my parent's still have a super old skool Japanese Karaoke machine. I had to preface that it's Japanese, because all of the writing on it is in Kanji.

Oh Snap, the jam is on! Sing it with me...

Girl you know its true. Oh oh oh, I love you.
Yes you know its true. Oh oh oh, I love you.

Damn, that's catchy.

Enough of that. I need to get these cassette recordings onto CD or Digital format. If anyone out there has ever done that, please let a brotha know.

FYI, I used to speak Tagalog pretty damn well. Also, my child voice is pretty cute. Given the fact that I was also a very cute child, I was definitely under a constant threat to get my cheeks pinched. Sadly, that is no longer the case.

Shoot, I'd better get back to sorting this stuff. Hopefully those lamps pop up. As I used to say on the tapes:

Sige na po!


SLTSFMM

It just don't feel the same
Gotta blame it on something
Gotta blame it on something
Blame it on the rain
Blame it on the stars

"Blame it on the Rain" by Milli Vanilli

Damn, Labels Suck!

As we were putting in the final touches on the condo renovation (more on that later), my cousin really put me in my place.

It seems that I will actually have a roomie while I'm going to school here. I have a female cousin who will be entering her freshman year as well. Since her family lived in town they had decided to save money by not putting her in the dorms. This of course bummed her out considerably.

This prompted me, being a knight in shinning armor, to let them know that I would be O.K. with her staying at my condo if she wanted too. Of course she jumped at the chance at moving out of the house and being able to live off campus immediately. I did say however, that I wished she could have lived in a dorm; for this was something I didn't get to do at all and I feel like I missed out on some memories.

Honestly, me volunteering to share one of the two extra bedrooms was a bit selfish. My cousin can cook and I know she'll help keep the place clean.

Alas, back to the "putting me in check"...

As we were doing some final painting touch ups I decided to bring up some rules for our living situation.

Jokingly (OK, maybe not completely jokingly), I told her I didn't want any "dudes, bro's, homies," or anything with a Y chromosome coming over after dark. But, I advised that I would be completely amenable to any bikini clad coed's that she might need to bring over for a study session.

She turned and said wryly:

"And then what? I'll introduce you as my MIDDLE AGED cousin who's back in school again?"

GOD DAMN! I guess REALITY really is the biggest game buster.

When the hell did I turn middle aged? F it all to HELL!

Quick update on the renovations. I just recently got home and showered, I was there till about 2 am to finish painting the stairs. Granted that I was pretty high on paint fumes, but I think the stairs came out looking pretty good. Can't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but instead of carpeting or putting laminate flooring on the stairs, we just kept them wood and I painted them black.

The condo is looking very modern, I sure it is the coolest looking one in the entire complex. All that is left to do is to clean the place up from top to bottom, then get some furniture up in that place.

Oh well, I'd better get to bed. I'm heading back to my parents house in Hays and I'm leaving for Kansas City tomorrow so I can take my brother to the airport on Friday. I also have to start packing for CALIFORNIA!

SLTSFFM

When its time to live and let die,
And you can't get another try,
Something inside the heart has died,
You're in ruins,

"21 Guns" by Green Day

If I mumbled...

If I mumbled my weekend would probably sound a whole lot more exciting. For instance, if you would have asked me what I did on Friday night...and if I answered with a low mumbled sentence you may have thought I said:

"I was cocking some whores!"

Exciting, albeit somewhat vulgar.

However, my life isn't a porno movie. And, I probably have never "cocked a whore". My Friday night was spent "caulking some floors".

The major renovations for my new/old place are complete. I was applying caulk to seal the new laminate flooring against the base boards.

I used the term: new/old because I will actually be residing in the same condo that I lived in during my first stint at Mizzou. My parents actually still own the place, so it was a great fit for me to take over again. Great news is that I'll only be taking care of utilities...which is awesome for my current negative income (which I hope to rectify in a month, more on that later).

I spent all week deep in D.I.Y. mode. D.I.Y., for the uninitiated stands for Do It Yourself. While this could be referring to "self love" (no more on that later), in this context its meant to refer to the upgrades my mother decided the condo needed.

Every single surface of the place was renovated. We pulled up all the old carpet and linoleum, which were holdovers form when I lived there previously. Needless to say the carpets were in pretty dire straits. We also painted all walls and ceilings. I even spray painted the outlet covers a nice metallic sheen to match the stainless steel coverings I commandeered from my place in SoCal.

With my very artistic sister's help, we also constructed a national skyline in my bedroom with the accent wall paint. We have a skyline of monuments from LA to Chicago to DC to NYC to Maine. I have to do some touch up work on it, but I'll definitely upload some pics (for those of you who cannot or refuse to visit me...punks!)

The house is mostly done. Other than the aforementioned painting touch ups and minor issues, the last hurdle is to paint the stairs. The condo is a 5 level apartment. There are 24 stairs (4 sets of 6 stairs) dividing the place up into the 5 levels. You walk into the living room with a set of stairs leading down to the kitchen and a set leading up to the office and 1st bathroom. From there the stairs wrap around to the next level, where another bedroom and bathroom are. Finally, one more flight of stairs leads to my bedroom...where, unfortunately, no magic will be happening.

Oh back to painting the stairs. Since we put in the laminate flooring, my biggest concern was the stairs. In my last condo, we hired a professional to take care of the stairs. This time, we only had the local expertise of a very artistic cousin (who just received a full ride to college for art). However, she is quite adept at the laying down of said flooring (her parents own several rental properties in the area so she had gotten good experience). But, she hadn't done floors yet.

With an epiphany, another cousin (who may actually room with me) suggested that we just paint the stairs black to give it the urban/loft feel. I dig that idea. Once we cleared it with the land lady, who I luckily have a good relationship with, painting was a go and having to laminate the stairs was tossed out.

How it will turn out will be interesting, but I did pick up some special paint from Home Depot with some anti-slick powder mixed in. With this powder, hopefully you'll never have to read a blog about my sliding down 24 steps on a sore ass.

I'll post up some picks when I'm done. Better yet, come visit and see for yourself!

SLTSFFM

I wish I could,
Leave and never return,
Baby, I know I should,
But for you I'd burn,
Stay away,
I can't stay away.

"I Can't Stay Away" by The Veronicas