Reading List

I've never been a huge reader. I blame it on my parents for forcing me to read all summer long every summer since I could read. When I start to enjoy reading, I run out of time to read. Like now. I have so many things I want to read, and yet, I start law school in a matter of weeks. Soon I will be reading very dry material (I can very much enjoy dry material, so that's good news). I don't know what to do until then. It's like there are too many things I would like to read so I just don't read anything. Oh well.

I love Santa Barbara. Even though there are many many things that are terribly wrong right now, I can't help but love where I live. It's just so beautiful and happy and lovely. I wish all of my friends and family would move here so I would never have to leave, even for a weekend.

Anyway, I am so busy these days. I have three jobs, but they are all fun so I might as well be playing all day long. It would be nice to never have a real job and instead just have a bakery forever and ever. I think I'll be a lawyer for a few years to make bank so that Marcella and I can start our bakery and I can do photo on the side and practice law when I wanted to exercise my mind. All while living on the mesa, blocks from the dog beach where I will walk my large dogs. I like it. In fact, I LOVE it.

Hi Bryan.

Life After College

I haven't posted in a while. I've been pretty busy, to say the least. Two of my good friends moved away, I turned 21, graduated, moved, got a new job, kept the old job, my step-brother got married, and I got into law school. Time has been an absolute blur and life has been an emotional rollercoaster. I'm done with college, but am still going to be at school and thank goodness I will not have to leave Santa Barbara any time soon.

My roommates are amazing. I'm having so much fun with them in our new adorable house with the hobbit door. Yeah, getting to IV can be a pain, but we are working it out and I can tell that it's going to be a gooooood year.

I need Trent and Julie to come back. I miss them mucho and days like 4th of July make it sink in more and more. It doesn't feel right to celebrate things like my birhday and graduation either without their goofy faces. They're working their kabooties off though so I hope that means they'll be back soon.

New job, amazing. I am having an interesting day today though. I brought home a dog named Callie this week. She stayed with us for four days. She slept with me, walked with me, and sometimes, yes, talked with me (I did most of the talking). She was precious and I wanted her so bad, but I knew I couldn't have her. I got attached, BUT knew that I needed to find her a home. I did just that. I sent her home this morning with a couple that I think will provide her with awesome amounts of love and exercise. I have such mixed emotions. I'll miss her a lot, but there will be other puppies to bring home and they will need our love just as much.

With that, I have to go advertise some more puppies. Hopefully I'll write back soon.

One Month

There is exactly one month until my birthday. Normally, I am not a huge fan of my birthday. Actually, I would say until last year, I liked the idea that I was a year older and that I got presents, a party, and a little extra love, but I didn't really like the attention that comes along with it. Then last year changed everything. I had the time of my life. What did I do differently you may ask? Virtually nothing, but it was a blast.

Thus, we are approaching another birthday. This time it's the big 2-1. Sure, I am excited that I will be allowed to drink. As silly as it is, I feel like the right to drink is a passage into adult hood. I mean, they're called "adult beverages" aren't they? I am excited to be allowed to order a beer when we go to a brewery. I'm excited to see what lies behind those walls at Tonic and Eios that are so mysterious to me at this time. I'm excited to be able to see Robert play shows at bars. That could be cool, we'll see.

I have already planned the first couple of things I will do as a 21 year old with my new rights. 1. I will buy Julie a Corona at Freebird's. (It's been a dream of ours for a long time). 2. I will go to a club downtown. 3. I will go wine tasting. 4. I will learn how to make some sort of drink and make it for everyone I know. Then, I will patiently wait for Ashley to turn 21 so she can join me in these endeavors.

One month.

Life as I know it

I haven't written a post in a while. I know exactly why too. I have so much going on in my head that I am trying to work out, so how do you put it onto paper (or a computer screen in this case)? It's difficult, but I guess that's what friends are for. They help you work out things that may seem unworkable. I don't want to give you the impression that I'm unhappy. That is not the case at all. In fact, I have been trying to work out how much I love life recently. I suppose I should summarize what has been happening in the last few weeks/months. Let's see...we could start with the end of last quarter.

I had an amazing quarter academically. I really felt like I hit it right. I was constantly in contact with every one of my teachers and I just felt like I was doing my absolute best. Then, at the end of the quarter it was Julie's birthday. We wore pretty dresses (after seven hours or more of looking), went to eat at Cheesecake Factory, and had lots and lots of fun. I even made her a feast and it was delicious. My relatives seem to really understand how to make a good chocolate cake.

Then, it was time for spring break. Let me just tell you, I had an AMAZING spring break. It was so relaxing and wonderful. The first couple of days Laura was here and of course we went to the beach and did the Santa Barbara relaxing thing. Then, Ashley and I embarked for a best friends trip, and we had the time of our lives. We got to L.A. (shout out to Kristina for letting us use her bed!) and went to Souplantation because, well, we needed a delicious meal before a busy day. The next morning we went to Disneyland (after a quick detour to go back and get the camera, couldn't have forgotten that). We spent the whole day there, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it, but it was so magical. We went on so many rides, ate soooo much good food and just had a lovely time. Day 2 was L.A. Zoo day (super awesome) and then John Mayer. Let me just tell you something about John Mayer in concert. He is amazing. He might be a tool, but his musical talent and gratitude and grace just illuminates from the stage when he plays live. It makes you want to cry. The next day it was back to Disneyland for a more relaxing, but equally amazing day. We ended it with an 80's cover band concert and headed home to Santa Barbara.

Back to Santa Barbara for the spring. Not bad, eh? More like awesome. I love this place so much. I have really found myself and established how to be what I want to be. The fact that it's my last quarter at UCSB makes me sad, but I know this has the potential to be the best quarter of my life. UCSB is about school, yes, and the academic experience has been to die for, but it's also been about being a Gaucho. What does that mean to me? Well, enjoying the ocean, savoring every experience, letting trivial and sometimes crucial, but uncontrollable things go, and just always remembering that life goes on. You can't have a bad day when the Pacific Ocean is minutes away. It's just not right.

My Second to Last College Dead Week

I am going all out this quarter. I have tried soooo hard. Maybe harder than I have ever tried at school before. I go to office hours consistently, fight grades, and study more often than not. I've even had to cancel work some days in order to study more. I thought this week was going to be a struggle. Too many distractions, excitements, etc. I nailed it. I feel like I have nothing to do, which of course is a false belief, but man it feels good.

What am I going to do about it? I'm going to go to the beach. I have to. It's too nice outside not to. I live in Santa Barbara. It's the middle of March and it's suitable weather to be walking around in a bathing suit.

On a side note, I have to tell you how much I love my friends. I could see them for two hours, even ten minutes and they make my day. They don't have to do anything either, just be around me. It makes taking everything that sucks a lot easier. Even better? Friends and the beach. That's why Julie and I will be using our long breaks between classes tomorrow to go to the beach. I think this is the most planned beach trip I have had since I moved to Santa Barbara, but I think the weather will cooperate.

On an even sider note, Taylor Swift and Jack Johnson have been getting me through dead week. It's so much easier to write papers with artistic and emotional stimulation from these people. ha ha ha ha.

"I didn't know what i would find when I went looking for a reason. I didn't read between the lines and baby I've got no where to go. I tried to take the road less traveled, but nothing seems to work the first three times. Am I right?"

I Want a Dog

I want a dog. REALLY BAD. I went to the animal shelter today. There were SO MANY dogs. Dogs of every kind too. Many times there is an excess of pitbulls and I don't want a pitbull, so the options are limited, but today there were puppies. LAB puppies that were only 8 weeks old. I wanted to take one home and keep it forever and ever and ever. There was also lab/sharpei mix. I didn't think I liked sharpeis, but this dog was pretty darn cute. I looked up sharpeis and I don't know about their personalities. We'll have to see. Maybe life will allow a puppy soon.

Humility

So I didn't have a very good day...It was rainy, I was in a bad mood, and it just seemed to be getting worse and worse with time. I really didn't want to be at work, but I had to go. I pick up Andrew from a friends house early because his mom got an e-mail from his teacher saying he got in trouble at school because he didn't finish his classwork. Let the yell fest begin. He starts screaming in the car saying his playdate wasn't long enough and he hates school and all the rest of it. I've learned to accept his screaming and talk to him about it after.

Anyway, the car conversation (for lack of a better word) went from him telling me he hates school, me telling him there are kids in other countries who would really want to take his place and be in school, him telling me school is free, me explaining taxes, him telling me taxes are stupid, but if they exist then why don't other countries use them, me explaining poverty and government corruption, and him asking what he could do about it. Sometimes I think he's too smart for a nine year old and his own good.

Then we go inside and get to work. His poem was actually a really stupid assignment, but I couldn't tell him that because he would have just had another tantrum. He had to write a poem called "If you stepped into my heart you would find..." and then come up with all these different things like, something from nature, something you can hear, something you can see, a feeling from your past. There were some highlights for sure. Something from nature-"ancient bird poo" I let it slide cause it was just too funny. Then, a feeling from the past-"feeling like a midget"...also too funny to tell him no. Then we get to the very last two things: Someone you love and how they make you feel. He gets all shy and looks down at his own stomach. He says "I think I'm looking at it". I didn't get it. I said, " you love yourself? That's all you can think of? What about your mom or da..."
"NOOO! I am looking at her..."
"Who?"
"You! I love you, ok?"
I tried to resist emotion. Okay, you can write me if you want. You should probably write "my babysitter" because your teacher won't understand if you just write my name.

Okay...last one..."how do I make you feel Andrew?"
"I don't know...sometimes it's hard to describe things."
"Yeah, you're right. It's really hard to describe love. But I mean, when I think about my friends, Julie makes me feel important and valued, Ashley makes me feel loved, and Trent makes me laugh, which are all reasons why I love th..."
"Well, you make me feel all of those things."
"Ok, well can you maybe pick one?"
"You make me feel...loved I think? But you also make me laugh and you put up with me when I yell at you and no one else does."
"Ok...well you could just say that I make you feel..."
"Great. I'm just going to write that you make me feel great."

I almost cried. Man, sometimes I can't imagine what it will be like when he gets too old for a babysitter.