[berkeley]

Eventful Evening
Pool for 3.5 hours. I was slightly less than decent for the first hour and a half. I was able to demonstrate the law of diminishing returns during the last two hours of play. Danh had a little more challenging time playing me simply because my billiard balls were in the way when he was trying to shoot the Eight ball. Well he gave me a bunch of tips, but I began lose the ability to do basic things such as aim by the 3rd hour.

Then the Albatross. I treated Alex to a root beer and endless popcorn after his unfortunate dealings with the City of Berkeley's tow trucks. Really interesting to see how well policy is enforced when it brings in a ton of revenue.

I haven't been to the Albatross on a Tuesday night in a very long time. It was as enjoyable as I remember it. Connect Four is not as hard as pool, and yet still so entertaining. Nevertheless, my pool playing brought an interesting perspective to the evening's conversation that I don't think I'd have thought of before.

[berkeley]

hoarse of course
So now I've got a raspy voice from the weekend's adventures. Thursday was three hours of pool at Thallassa's, Friday was a little shopping and sushi with Monelle, Saturday was a photo trip to the Embarcadero, Farmer's Market, Fog City Diner, and Tito Rudi's 50th birthday bash.

I had trouble sleeping last night even after taking Nyquil, my old standby. In my dream, I was solving a physics problem that I'd been working on before I'd gone to bed. Just can't escape myself sometimes I guess.

Nevertheless, the sleepless night was well worth the fun times with Bern & Nico and then later more fun times with Likha. It's been so long since i've seen the troupe, and it was great to see them again. I have to admit, it was a little intimidating to dance when some of the partygoers jumped into the middle of the dance floor circle and threw down a choreographed routine. Good times for sure. I'd be lying if I said i didn't miss Likha.

[berkeley]

>>and then i hear myself reply, "She'll never let you in" this time tonight<< Hanson's If Only

he is?
So it turns out 19-year-old Taylor Hanson of the band "Hanson" got married in June of this year and became the father of Jordan Ezra Hanson on Oct. 31.

My housemate, Trissie, tells me there's some sort of statistic that a large percentage of 19-year-olds have already met the person they're going to marry. Just a thought.

more birthday news
Friday night was super fun. Dinner at Venezia was tasty as expected. It was interesting to see my high school and college friends interact. I think it was a success. I was worried people would feel left out, but I think they had fun. Highlights include doing the "prom pose" with my friendGirls in front of the fountain at Venezia, utensil bending (not really), and pumpkin props.

Then we moved onto Thallassa's on Shattuck and Channing. They always have been super rigid with their age limit, so I was carded and happily displayed my id. It was good times. It turns out I don't really like the taste of alcohol and had to start with girly fruity stuff. And don't ya'll worry, no drunken stupor...perhaps ever. I even studied a whole bunch on Saturday.

[berkeley]

finally
Yay for being able to get into any establishment in California. 21 really is as great as I thought it would be. No anticlimactic feelings here.

I found my blog entry from last year's birthday. Luckily, my midterm this year was this morning rather than the day after. Now I get to go to the Albatross tonight without sneaking in.

Thanks for tagging my board Bev, Bern and Nico!

express what he's got, oh baby ready or not Madonna's Express Yourself

[berkeley]

throw it down
I just came home from watching 8 Mile. It was as good as I thought it would be. Very happy with dropping $9.50 through fandango.com. Show was sold out and even though we got to the theater 5 minutes after the previews had begun, I was able to get a great seat, front and center.

The movie made me want to rip the flow. But, haha, too bad I haven't the slightest about being an mc.

[berkeley]

Remember why you came and while you're alive, experience the warmth before you grow old Incubus' The Warmth

now is the winter
So I've settled upon something i want :: badly. I want to be a print and web designer. All of the people who are great at what they do have weathered a "winter of discontent" [shakespeare's Richard III]. I'm ready to take my knocks.

Strangely, and yet understandably so, I don't feel disheartened. All of the rejections and seemingly discouraging events that I'm about to experience are a rite of initiation before things start falling into place.

I saw two shooting stars on two separate occasions this week. Good signs I think.

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. P. Coelho's "The Alchemist"

[berkeley]

excerpt
from an email to Tanveer ::

"I've been chasing the wrong dream for 3 years. Call me crazy, but now that I've found the right dream, I have no patience left."

in other news
Took pictures of some grommets on Saturday. Need to develop film. Hope they turn out well. It'll be a while before I get them out.

[berkeley]

tremendous as the dream may be
i fall short of starting the journey

don't be afraid.
"You must always know what it is that you want." -P. Coelho