New Record

My brother made 19 points tonight! He was making all his shots at his freshmen basketball game, the last game of the season for him. Great job, bro!!

Gone Living...

I'm done with school for now.

Time to head home.

Summer's here.

I made a to-do list earlier, a couple days ago. I make one occasionally. Just a way to write things down that need to be done and that I need to remember. I put it on an plain index card, so I can put it in my back pocket of my jeans and look at it when I need to.

I made a to-do list for this summer. There are just some things I want to do and try.

Thought I'll share it with you.

Summer's To Do -

1. Know the "autshop" on my car
2. Learn how to barbeque
3. Play golf everyday then swim
4. Take my family to the movies
5. Travel to the beach
6. Get in shape, tone my muscles
7. Play a board/video game with my brothers every night
8. Mow the lawn/yardwork
9. Get a new tan ;)
10. Read books/watch TV a lot
11. Play catch with the brothers
12. Learn sign language fluently again
13. Transfer all home videos to DVD
14. Videotape a lot
15. Have fun

I'll be around here and there. Staying in touch. Let you know if I completed anything or not. Three months of summer ... it's gonna be good.

'Til then ... I'm gone living.

:)

Just a Number...

I have certain numbers that I love. They're particular numbers that I always like to come across or have things added up to. Any other numbers are just numbers to me.

Some of those favorites are 13, 43, 7, 10, 23, 61, 5, and 313. There's a few others that I can't recall right now.

But if I get a number and I don't particularly like it, I try to change it to a number I do like. For example, suppose I get 68. It's just some random number to me. So, my mind starts changing it, right? I go something like this - 6 + 8 = 14. Still don't like it. 1 + 4 = 5. Now, that's a good number. 68's okay now.

Another example would be 1434. 1 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 12. No. 1 + 2 = 3. That's good. And I keep doing this until it works out.

:)

It's kind of random and crazy, I know. I only caught myself doing that within the last couple years. I've just been doing it automatically for years. Can't change it. But it's not that bad really. Just something that makes me ME.

People use numbers for all kinds of things - money, codes, measurements, age, etc. They're all just a number. Yet sometimes, it becomes something more.

Today, my new favorite number is 20. I've never really like it before, but I'm starting to now.

It's been an extremely good day.

A Time To Remember

Nine years ago tonight, I went to sleep with tears in my eyes. I have never been the same since. The innocent child in me had slowly faded away as a more experienced one came to be.

That night, my grandfather had passed away in his battle with cancer. He was 62 years old. I was 10 going on 11.

It was the first time in my life someone close to me had died. It wasn’t the last either. In a way, it was a lesson – life is short; make the most of every moment.

Nowadays, I don’t really remember a whole lot about my childhood. Mostly pictures and home videos would make up for it. But this much I remember ...

I always called my grandfather "Papa" and he always called me "Shorty." I was his oldest grandchild and the only one he had a nickname for. He had a ranch in his country home that was on Mooney Road. He had a dog named Junior. He had a few others, but that was his favorite. He raised chickens for a living, but he always had an undying love for the beach and for fishing. He lived life on the wild side too.

I remember his beard and his smile. He always tried to make jokes. He had a good sense of humor. I don't ever remember not seeing him smile. He would light up the room on most occassions.

I remember his tattoos. On the back of his right hand, he had a wolf wearing a hat. On his right shoulder, he had an anchor. There were some words nearby the tattoos, but the meanings I don't remember.

I remember his generosity. Every time I visited his house, I always left with something - a watch, a few toy green army soldiers, a fishing reel, his cowboy hat. These have become some of my most valuable treasures.

I remember the last time I saw him. My family went to visit him at his beach house. He was in terrible condition at the time; the cancer was really taking a toll on his body, but not his spirit. He didn't look much like the Papa I knew. I remember being scared at the time, I could barely look at him. Being ten, I didn't really understand what could happen, but I knew whatever it was, I didn't want it to happen.

I remember on that trip, we went fishing with Papa. I caught a fish or two and he caught some as well. We enjoyed fishing as we did a thousand times before. It was just another day at the pier - a good day. Yet that was the last time I ever went fishing.

I remember the last words I heard him spoke. I was in the car, for it was time to go home. He gave a fishing reel to my mom and told her, "Give this to Shorty."

I remember the night he died. It was about a week later. I was in bed sleeping. Mom had woke me up at 8:31pm and told me with tears in her eyes, "Papa died." I didn't say anything as she left the room. I just took a look at the fishing reel and his cowboy hat by my bed as tears silently fell.

Papa was 62 when he passed away. I sure wish he lived to be a lot older, that he was alive today. Yet to this day, I still remember him. I try to live out some of his good characteristics. And I will always continue to have a love for the beach, for fishing and for life. It's part of my Paradise.

I suppose that's his legacy.

Glorious Saturday

I love Saturdays. I just do. I love it better than Fridays, but not more than Sundays. After all, that's God's day.

Today, I slept in, trying to catch up on hours of sleep that I lost during the week. Then I went golfing for a while. I just chipped around a couple of balls on a patch of grass and that was very fun. Golf is my sport and I just love playing it. I met up with my family later for lunch and a movie. We saw 10,000 BC. That was one great movie. The plot was interesting and the historical elements to the story was authentic in my opinion. I can't wait to see it again on DVD. Plus, the previews were awesome! I saw Hancock, Iron Man, Speed Racer and The Dark Knight. All these movies seem to hold great promise from what I saw in the promos and I can't wait to see them when they come out.

Getting me around the highway today was my trusty car. I just love driving it. And today was no exception. Had my shades on, the music going and a smile on my face.

It was a good day.

But now, I have to end it with some homework. That's not really a good thing.

The upside - if I get something finished tonight, I can watch golf on TV in the afternoon tomorrow with a clear conscience.

Later!