Lack of Blog Updates explanation!

So the reason behind my lack of blog posts for the past couple weeks is due to the fact that my laptop screen broke and have been waiting for a replacement. There were some shipping errors so I still have another week or so before I get my laptop up and running again. I tell you, it hasn't been easy considering how much I used it. And not being able to play minecraft has been dreadful! :P

But anyways, I'm getting to use my mother's laptop for the night so felt like giving this update. Hold in there and I'll be back to my usual antics when my laptop is up and running.

Valentines Gifts from Maria. :)

I'm replacing my music post today with what I got from Maria for Valentines day for 2 reasons...

1. I am just super happy about what she got me and have to share!
and 2. Because I couldn't think of a music post today.

While it is late, who cares? It's still super sweet of her to send me something when she certainly didn't have to send me anything at all. She sent me a letter, two "Love Songs" CD's, some pirate tattoos, and a hulk watch. (The Tattoos and the hulk watch are basically an inside joke.... I'd tell them but that'd take away from them being an inside joke, thus taking the specialness away from them.) I absolutely love EVERYTHING about the package she sent me. :)

Here they are...

The envelope for the letter ATTACKED by kisses. :)

My CDs. :) Definitely amazing songs she put on them. 

The package for the Hulk watch. She's so clever... :) (No sarcasm intended)

Tattoos!! Now I can be a total badass with my pirate tattoos. :P

Top of the pirate tattoos. There's an inside joke with the Johnny Depp thing. :P
I dunno what's with the JB stickers? O.o XD

Wearing the watch with a pirate tattoo on my forearm. Yeah, I actually wear the stuff my girlfriend got me because they mean a lot to me. Not cheesy at all. :)

 So as you can plainly see, my girlfriend is just amazing! I love her with all my heart. She has an amazing sense of humor, it's great having inside jokes with her, and she knows the things that make me smile. I'm a lucky guy! :D

LDR Tuesday: Wanting to be the right person.

I've never really talked about this on my LDR posts, but it is a pretty big part of my relationship. There's a lot of things about who I was and mistakes I had made that I regret because being with Maria has made me into a better person. That's a really special fact if you think about it. When you finally meet someone who is worth everything to you, you find yourself adapting to them. It's not even a forceful change either, it just happens because your heart wants you to be everything you can be for that person because you love them and don't want to give them a reason to leave. Now, some may argue that they'd never change for someone because they are their own person no matter what and that's fine. But it's different when you want to voluntarily change. Maria has never actually asked me to change anything about myself, but I know the things that would or will make her upset, so I change myself around those things because I always want to remain right for her. It's not a loss of identity at all. It's still simply YOU wanting to be the right person, so you essentially "upgrade" yourself to be that person.

Before Maria, I had done sexual things with past girlfriends. I'm not proud of any of it, but it took being with Maria to realize that. She's very pure and I admire the heck out of that, in fact, that's one of the bigger reasons I fell in love with her. Getting to share those intimate moments with her will be much more special because it will be her first time with any of it. Unfortunately, I can't take back my past..... BUT it's all completely meaningless to me now. Sharing those moments with Maria will be like a first time all over again. One thing about myself that I am proud of however, is the fact I'm still a virgin. I have been saving myself for the right girl, someone who I dearly love and won't feel I made a mistake about my first time. I have been made fun of for being 18 and still a virgin, but I don't care because I know it will be special and meaningful to me.

The reason for this post is because recently, her brother hasn't been all supportive of our relationship. He gave her reasons why I'm bad for her. And why wouldn't he? I've made a lot of mistakes, but the part he doesn't see is that I'm always adapting, always learning from every mistake so that I CAN be the best I can be for Maria. I'm devoted to her, I love her more than anything else in the world, and I'm always trying to be a good boyfriend for her. I may not always have done a great job at it, but I'm constantly changing. I think when a person is that committed to being right for the one they love, it should show their worth as a person. I'm definitely not a perfect person and there's no way I ever will be, but I strive to be a perfect person for Maria. There's a fine line between being perfect and being perfect for someone. When you're perfect for someone, they love everything about you and never see faults, that's a personal feeling. But being a perfect person, means being perfect compared to EVERYONE'S view. That's just impossible. So I feel that striving to be perfect for Maria, is a goal that can be achieved. I'm always trying. While it may take her family time to realize that, eventually.... I hope they see me as the person I so desperately try to be for her. She loves me for who I am for the most part. It's amazing, but it doesn't hurt to always try to be better.

So when you find that person you'd give everything for, don't be afraid to change at your own will. If you seriously love that person, adapting to their desires is a positive step towards a happy relationship. Don't be afraid to strive towards being a perfect person for them because the love you receive from it is simply one of the most amazing feelings in the world.

So to close this post, Maria... if you're reading this, I love you baby. I may not always be the best for you, but I'm constantly striving to be better and even if your family doesn't realize that now, I promise to eventually prove that to them. Just know that you are already perfect for me. :)

Saturday Randomness: Cars!

I may have never mentioned it, but I am a big fan of cars, but not only that.... I have a gift when it comes to cars. I can look at just about any car and name the Make and Model of it and I'm fairly decent at naming the year of it. I have always had a strong passion for cars. I grew up loving cars. My parents claim that I even learned to walk by pulling myself on my dad's truck tire. As cool as that sounds, I don't really believe it's true. As a kid, I always would play with hot wheels and make characters and I had my own little world with my hotwheels. I remember spending hours at a time never getting bored. I don't really know what got me being able to name Makes and Models so well but it's awesome to say the least. I spent about 6 years, from second grade until about the end of 8th grade/mid Freshman year, wanting to become a car designer like Chip Foose. I always drew cars and wanted to design and build them for a living.

I remember watching shows like "Monster Garage" and "Overhaulin" and always being fascinated by how cars worked and how they looked.

I would say that my main focus in cars, is muscle cars. I am a huge fan of Chrysler Corporation so I love Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars. My absolute dream car is a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T.

Side shot of one. 

Front.... streamlined and GORGEOUS.

My favorite part about the Charger is probably the back BECAUSE of the big tail-lights and tough look to it.

Even though I don't really have a desire to be a car designer any more, cars will always be a big part of my life. I still love going to car shows and cruises. I NEVER get tired of seeing a beastly muscle car. There's something about the way they sound, their raw power and torque, their tough streamlined look that I just can't get enough of. Unfortunately, I have never got to ride in or drive a muscle car, but I'm always wishing that someday I will. In all honesty, I am always going to be pushing to have a '69 Charger because it IS my dream car so I intend on owning one.

So I am 18 years old. I didn't get my first car until shortly before graduation. I actually am surprised with how nice of a first car I got. It's a 1996 Saturn SL1. It's not a fast car to say the least, but it is very nice looking. It runs exceptionally well for having almost 270,000 miles on it. It is a 5 speed 4 cylinder car so it is fun to drive. The only issues with it are the fact that I need to piston rings because I burn through oil in about 2-3 weeks time so doing an oil change is completely pointless. It also has bad window seals so my windows fog up easily in the cold and don't like to unfog until my car is warmed up and my defroster decides to work better. :P Here's my car....

After getting it detailed. Nice rims, custom tailights, custom exhaust, skateboarding stickers COVER my back window. 

4 cylinder. I have a Spectre Open air intake (The tube with the cone looking thing) .  Pushing MAYBE 115 hp at most.

Pioneer stereo and speakers. They sound pretty nice. The custom interior lights my dad did for me. Pretty toight!

So that's what I drive just about everyday. It may not be fast, but it is my car and I love it. :)

I don't know too much about the mechanics of cars though because I only took an intro to autp class and my dad hasn't really ever taught me anything. I do know the basics like oil changes, brakes, changing tires and engine components. I'm just not a real "whizz" when it comes to working on cars.

But anyways, that's my saturday post for this week. I would like to know some of your favorite cars, or would like to discuss cars with someone willing so as always, don't hesitate. :)

Music Wednesday: Crown The Empire

I ALMOST skimped on this post.... I have 50 mins exactly before it's technically tomorrow so this is still a music wednesday post thus making it NOT late. Whoot! XD

Anyways, there's this awesome metal band I only recently discovered. It's kind of a funny story. My friend Trevor and I were listening to the endless universe of music on YouTube and we saw "Crown The Empire" on the sidebar so we though, "Eh, why not give it a shot?" So we clicked on the song "The Fallout" and just.... well listen and need I say more?

This is the song that got me hooked. Now allow me to give a brief biography on them...

They started in July of 2010. Their EP is titled "Limitless" and their album "The Fallout" is their debut. So they are a very new band coming into the scene and I think that if they continue the awesome music they already have, they'll make it big in no time. They are on Rise Records and hail from Dallas Texas. It's really hard to figure out their genre because they are very unique. They are PROBABLY considered metalcore because of the screaming and cleans integrated together but they have an underlying "circus-y" theme which is totally badass. They also are smart with their vocals because they have two vocalists; one for cleans and one for screams. I believe that is smart because having one person doing screams and cleans would probably ruin cleans in a live show after a few songs because of the strain on their voice.

Members:

Andy Leo:  Vocals 
David Escamilla:  Vocals 
Brandon Hoover:  Guitar 
Ben V:  Lead Guitar 
Hayden Tree:  Bass 
Brent Taddie:  Drums 

And now a few of their songs...

"MakeShift Chemisty" One of my favorites!

"Johnny's Revenge" Awesome song! Very circus-y. :P

"Wake Me Up" Off of their EP "Limitless".... I know my girlfriend really likes this song. :P

"Memories of a Broken Heart" A softer song... still amazing. 

I think I gave a good rendition of their music. I could go on about how awesome they are, but I already know and you only have to discover for yourself. :)

Anyways, I'm going to go listen to some more "Crown The Empire" :P

LDR Tuesday: My trip to see her.

Ok, so I've been a failure at my blog the past week... oh well. I actually have something worth writing about today... as always on my LDR posts. :P

So as some of you may know, my plan was to save money to see Maria for her prom but unfortunately, things changed and I'll be going there for graduation instead about 2 weeks after prom. (May 24th) I won't really go into detail why that is, not that anything bad happened, it's just a long explanation. When that happens (hopefully it does) I'd be staying at Maria's dad's house and she'd stay the night at her mom's down the street, but we'd spend the day together at her mom's house. I completely understand why that is, even though I would never dare to try anything or even want to. I have way too much respect for Maria and her parents to even attempt anything. I'm still really excited though because this is hugely important to me. I want to be there as soon as possible because I'm tired of the wishing, I'm ready for the doing. You'll find that in probably every LDR, the couple is saying "I wish we could be together" or "I wish we could cuddle on the couch together right now and watch a movie." Yeah, that's one thing that sucks about an LDR but in the end it'll all be worth it. One major thing that sucks about not being there though is when eiter of us are sad or angry and we can't be there for eachother for comfort. There's been several instances where I've wanted to be there wiping her tears away and holding her in my arms, just doing anything I can to help her be happy.

Anyways, I hope that I can stay there for the very least of 5 days but being the mass amount of money I'd spending on the trip, I'd really like 7-10 days. Some things I worry about is not getting the time off of work or not saving enough in time. Both scare me because I'm so ready to be with her. The waiting game is doable, but I hate it. I'm ready for the time we can put this LDR behind us and have our relationship together, where we can be there for eachother, take walks, go places together, spend late nights lying next to eachother in bed talking, waking up to eachother each morning, etc.,etc., etc.

The last thing in this post for today, she may be coming here after she turns 18. There's so much in Oregon I want to show her. I already did a post on those things though so be sure to check it out.

To close this post, I love you Maria! Keep holding on baby and I'll be with you soon enough even if things won't go according to plan... we'll figure it out. :)

Music Wednesday: Music today vs. Past music (rant)

♫ I'm actually surprised in myself that I hadn't done this sooner. I've always had this strong opinion on how music has changed negatively (in a lot of aspects but not all) and how I feel about it. This is going to be a very opinionated post, so just a fair warning. BUT I would also like if you [my viewers] would throw in some of your viewpoints as well. ♪

♫ I'm mostly referring to 80's and 90's music for the past part because I feel that that's when music was at it's best. It seems like in today's society, anybody can make it "big", but only if you throw some auto-tune and a terrible hip-hop track behind you. One "artist" that I'll never understand how she got big is Nikki Minaj. Honestly, she is the worst thing in music I have ever heard. No talent, sounds like an idiot, does these long "notes" if it's even worth calling it that, and changes her voice to this alter ego? There's this guy on youtube named Adam Buckley who breaks down terrible music one step at a time and exposes WHY they are bad. Here's his breakdown of Nikki Minaj's "Stupid Hoe"♫


♫ With a song like this, do you wonder if record companies even take pride in who they give a record deal to? This song is pathetic. Horribly written, annoying backing track, terrible "singing". It's like you don't even have to have musical talent anymore to make it. Let's just say, money talks, and record companies are greedy. As long as they are getting their money, they don't care who they put on their label. ♫





 ♪ 80's and 90's rock and metal seemed to be the best time frame for music. I feel that there was a lot of passion in every song. Songs back then had more meaning. I enjoy Van Halen a lot because you could sense a bit of pride in their songs. The song "Right Now" has a pretty great meaning... ♪

♫ The song is basically about living in the moment. It was also written during worldwide political change, so it does have a bit of political meaning too. It's one of my favorite songs still to this day. ♪

♫ Another song with a very deep meaning is Alice in Chains "Nutshell". That song has an intense amount of passion. Layne Stayley (Singer for AiC) was having a rough patch in his life, and you can tell how much feeling he put into the song when he wrote it. It was one of the last songs he wrote before he passed away. It's a very powerful and meaningful song... one that you definitely can connect with when you hear it. ♪

♪ I'm not saying all modern day music is bad. I like a lot of metal and rock now. Some songs still do have a passionate meaning. 30 Seconds to Mars is very good at sounding passionate. Their song and music video "Closer to the Edge" is just a wow factor... ♫

♫ A song that I've really connected with recently and I know my friend Trevor does being that his family has a military background is "Hand Held High" by Linkin Park. This song, just.... wow! The lyrics press on a lot of key issues and the overall music scheme hits you in the heart... ♫

♪ A list of other powerful songs from 2000 on that I listen to would be, "Far From Home"-Five Finger Death Punch, "Hero of War"-Rise Against, "Panic Prone"-Chevelle, "Viva La Vida"-Coldplay, "Home"-Daughtry, "Hole in the Earth"-Deftones, "Bring me to Life"-Evanescence, "Heartbeat"-The Fray, "How to Save a Life"-The Fray, "Never say Never" -The Fray (what can I say, they have good valuable songs), "Everything"-Lifehouse (my girlfriend and I's song) :), "Your Guardian Angel"-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "Through Glass"-Stone Sour, and "This is War"-30 Seconds to Mars. ♫

♪ That was basically a list from my Itunes library. Anyways, if you feel the same as I do or disagree, please state why you feel the way you do. I want other's opinions on today's music vs. past. Thanks for checking it out this week. ♪