Far From Refuge

What is it with movies, particularly romantic comedies? I officially have a love/hate relationship with them. While I love the light-hearted comedic banter, they always make it seem like it is so easy to find a totally cool, usually hot, and single girl. I hate it. It just doesn't happen. Girls like that are so few and far between. I find it very depressing. There are few things worse than being a rough around the edges Mormon trying to find a girl. I hate dating. It sucks. I hate girls and the stupid games they play. Heaven forbid a girl want to settle down with a nice guy like myself. I honestly don't understand it. Girls will flock to total douche bag losers that treat them like shit, but a nice guy like myself that treats women with respect seems to have some sort problem with finding one. There seems to be no balance in this world. People (girls) seem to either view me as some sort of saint who judges them because they do this that or whatever(these usually being girls who aren't LDS or who are inactive LDS members) or as a bad seed, a heathen if you will (these usually being the molly mormon type). Or maybe this is just how I view most girls I meet. Either they are too mormon or not mormon enough. I don't know. Can't anyone just meet me in the middle? Why is it that if you don't do something that someone else does they think you are judging them for it? I hate my life. I think I may go off the grid for a while. Not that I have been good at updating this thing as of late but I think I may take a longer break. I already deleted my facebook. Please don't comment and ask me what happened. I don't want to talk about it. Also, don't comment and tell me to cheer up. Better yet, just don't comment at all. I just needed to get my thoughts down.

This weekend was one built for the gods of metal. After a long week in the office, I needed some sort of release. Friday night I went with Jeff, Amy, and Heather to the Grove in Anaheim to see As I Lay Dying. Yes, a very metal name. As I Lay Dying happen to be Christian metal act, which sounds like a bit of a conundrum but it works well I think. Anyways, one of the opening acts of the show was Bring Me the Horizon from England. I have been really digging on their new cd for the past couple weeks and was even more excited to see them than AILD.

Other than crappy sound, Bring Me the Horizon blew me away. For an opening band, the crowd was really into it as well. After much head banging and rocking they left me very satisfied. I thought they were going to steal the show to be honest. Then AILD came on. Holy crap. They were filming a live DVD of the performance so I think the crowd was getting into it even more than normal. Needless to say, they melted my face with their constant rocking and shredding. After their last song, Jeff, Amy, and I decided to move to the front, as we were enjoying from afar and knew they would do an encore. By the way, can just say that encore's are ridiculous? I hate them. Its like bands now include it on their set list and plan to come out again. I would refuse to do them if I were in a band. Its so dumb. They leave the stage like they are done full well knowing that they are coming back out. It really gives it away because they lights remain off and the house music doesn't come on. I digress. So, we decided to move up for the last few songs. They played two of my favorites for the encore. I haven't been in a mosh pit since probably high school. Probably for a couple reasons. I used to go in them in high school when I was big into punk music. Punk music probably sounds worse live than on the cd. So you really arent missing much by going in the pit. Now that I usually see bands that actually have...talent?....I like to sit back and watch and enjoy the music. So after i don't know how many years of not going in a mosh pit i finally returned on Friday night. All I gotta say is good times! I had a lot of fun. I forgot how gross and sweaty you get sure, but it was a lot of fun.

Last night we went to LA to see In Flames at the brand new Club Nokia. Unfortunately I had a headache from the get go. Listening to some crappy opening French metal band play for 30 minutes when you have a headache is not fun. In Flames rocked my world. My neck was already hurting from the previous night, but I rocked out some more to In Flames. In Flames is a sweet Swedish metal band who pretty much wrote the book on metal from that area. They have been around for like 15 years and have a huge catalog of albums that even I don't know. Probably about half the songs they played I didnt know, but the other half I did know were rad. My face was melted once again. I'm pretty burned out now. Luckily its only a 3 day week!

First off, does anyone else hate it when its 2:00 AM and you suddenly have an awesome idea for a blog post? This happened to me last night. I wanted to get up right then and there and spend an hour typing it up, but knew I would be super tired in the morning, and I was also already really tired at the moment. So, I decided to just type it up today. No problem, right? WRONG. It would easy enough to do if I could remember what the crap I wanted to write about. I still have no idea what it was about. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

But, alas, I do have a bit of good news to write about for those of you interested in my life. I would like to formally announce that I, Scott Andrew Hayden, will once again be a contributing member of society starting this Monday. That's right, I got a job today. Excitement doesn't begin to explain my feelings. I'll be working for a company called FASTech that is located in Buena Park. They do a lot of gas station maintenance such as nozzles and tanks and all that stuff. The told me they were qualified to build a gas station from the ground up, but they basically stuck with the maintenance of them. I'll be a staff accountant for them working directly under the controller. I'm excited to finally be working again, and to be making money. This last month and a half have sucked because I have had pretty much no money to go out with. Luckily, parents have gracious enough to help me out with my bills. Thanks again!

Also, I have received my CPA exam study materials in the mail. I know its going to suck studying all that time but I have to admit I am excited to start. Its kind of a headache to apply to take the test with the state. So hopefully I'll get all that squared away soon and start taking care of these tests.

I was watching the newest episode of Heroes online last night and they had a new villain that can make black holes/vortex's appear out of no where and he throw whatever he wants in there. I think that guy actually exists in real life and came to my house and threw my sunglasses and digital camera in one of the black holes. If anyone reading this has any leads on where my camera and sun glasses might be, let me know.

I can't find my sun glasses or digital camera. What the heck? This is very upsetting to me.

Today I went to a career fair in Ontario to look for a job. It ended up sucking really bad because I drove all the way out to Ontario, drove around for 20 minutes looking for a parking spot, and waited in line another 20 minutes only to discover there were only 15 companies there, none who were offering any jobs that had to do with accounting or auditing. What the heck? I love when it says on the flier that there will be people there from the accounting industry and there aren't any there. Ridiculous. While standing in line that 20 minutes I started to observe my fellow line-waiters. I was astonished at what I saw. It looked like most people made some type of effort to look presentable to possible future employers. There were, however, a distinguished few who looked like they made absolutely no effort to look presentable. A few guys looked like they were going to play basketball after (I won't mention their race). One lady was wearing a teal t-shirt with a beanie. And if that wasn't bad enough, the tag of the beanie was sticking out. Its like, did you look in the mirror at all before you left? I guess if they did look in the mirror before they left and still looked like that it would be even worse. Let's hope they were just negligent in that department. Do these people really wonder why they are currently unemployed? I saw a few college age kids with ridiculous hair. Any of you who knew me in highschool know that when I say ridiculous hair, it must be outrageous. Word to the wise: If you are a guy and you have your ear pierced so large that a pencil can fit through it, you should probably go apply at Hot Topic, not Wells Fargo or any other business that takes themselves seriously. Another hint, if you don't own a collared shirt for an interview, much less a tie, just stay home. You aren't getting the job anyways. The good thing about today was looking at natures rejects and feeling better about myself.


P.S. Most people dressed appropriately. Only about 10% to 15% were under par.

I would like to thank Jeff Stone. You have out done yourself again sir.

Ok, so my life kind of sucks right now. I'm broke and I don't have job. In church last Sunday, someone baring their testimony mentioned the phrase "take inventory of your lives". Believe me, I am just as surprised as you all are that I actually took something from church. Its a rarity. Anyways, I really liked that phrase. Take inventory of your life. Its so easy to think about all the crap that is going on in your life and how much it sucks. It seems as though my life gets worse on a daily basis. No money. No job. Stacking up bills. Now student loans are knocking at the door. Its hard to not think constantly how much your life sucks at the moment. Take inventory of your life. But really, what does that all add up to? Some figure that will erase when I finally get a job, or a few months after. It basically all boils down to that. Me not having a job. When I think about it that way, its not so bad actually, especially when compared to the blessings I currently have. Take inventory of your life. Count the blessings. As I was laying in bed last night I started to think about all the blessings in my life right now. I'm not going to name all the ones I thought of but there a lot. Seriously...a lot. It got me thinking to how bad my life could actually be, or rather, how bad some other people actually have it. I find it very easy to forget ALL the blessings I have in my life. Its a lot easier to complain. One particular blessing I just want to touch on is friends. I really have some of the best friends a person could ask for. They aren't just people I hang out with. They are people I can talk about life and my future with. People I can talk to about my struggles. Anyways, I am just really thankful for them because they get me through a lot. Chances are if you are reading this then I am talking about you. Except all you weirdo's out there that read my blog that I don't know. Haha.

PS The Dodgers won Game 1 of the NLDS tonight against the Cubs. It marks only the second post-season game they have won since they won the World Series in 2008. Thats something to be thankful for!

Enjoy these old year book photos of me.

Today was my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday MOM!! I won't say how old she is partly because I don't think you are supposed to do that (right?) and partly because I'm not sure how old she is. haha, sorry Mom. I think its somewhere in the late 30's though *wink*. Actually, I know what year she was born so I guess I could figure it out if I tried. Anyways, I get constantly prodded by my brother for being a momma's boy, mostly because I am the baby of the family and get treated as such. Today I gladly stand before you and accept my momma's boy-dom. I love my mom. She's always been there for me when I have needed her. Thanks for the place to stay right now by the way, Mom. I won't bore everyone by going into details but sufficeth it to say that she is great and I love her and its her birthday. I think she likes to think of herself as "the cool mom" but then second guesses herself sometimes. What she doesn't know is after all my friends meet her they talk about how cool my mom is. So despite your lack of love for screamy music, thinker movies, and your own second guess, you really are the cool mom. Happy Birthday Mom, I LOVE YOU!!

By the way, this little clip reminds me of myself bugging my mom when I was a kid.

Right now I feel like a drill is going through ear, penetrating my brain, and coming out the other side. Im being punished for not having a job to go to today, by the neighbors doing some kind of carpentry. Thats right Fish, carpenTry. I should also note that I reread my last post recently and was appalled at all the spelling and grammatical errors. I sincerely apologize for how hard and annoying it is to read any of my posts. I promise to proof read from now on.

As stated above, my last temp assignment ended on Friday. What the heck, man? I'm really sick of not having a permanent job. I hated Craparoni Grill, but at least I knew I was there as long as I wanted to be. I really don't like this temp business, or even "temp to hire" business. What does temp to hire mean anyways? I am still confused about the idea of it. I have thus decided to look for something on my own. Sure if the temp agency throws something my way I'll take it for the paycheck, but other than that I have decided to rely on myself for finding something. I remember being out of a job in college and how much I hated interviewing and filling out applications. Real jobs are even worse. I guess the only thing about it that is good is that I'll be a lot more excited when I get hired on at an CPA firm than I was when I got hired on at Macaroni Grill.

In other news I have decided to take an institute class on Tuesday nights this semester. I figure now that I have my nights open from work and I don't have homework, because I am GRADUATED, I should take the time to study the good word a bit more. That and it should help cure the social deficiencies that plague my life constantly. So yeah, two birds, one stone, that old chestnut. Im not even sure what the class is on to be honest. Hopefully not Old Testament.

Lastly, I finally got Snubbs registered in California. Snubbs is my car by the way. I can't even say how much of a relief it is to finally have that done. Anyone else ever driven with expired plates that expired 4 months prior? Talk about nerve racking. I think the worst experience was when I came across a sobriety check in Brea with 5 or 6 cop cars, and freaking out that they would see my plates. I am now pleased to say that Snubbs is legal and driving in a city near you.

Yesterday I did something that I have not done in about 3 1/2 months. I'm almost embarrassed to say it. No, I am embarrassed to say it. "Hello, my name is Scott and I shop at Wal-Mart." Then followed by a warm, "Hi Scott,". Yes my friends I went to Wal-Mart. I honestly didn't see really how bad it was until I went to the one here in California. In Utah I used to go all the time and did the majority of my shopping there. The one in Orem frequented by most UVSC and BYU students and thus presents an overall normal atmosphere. Not so much here in California. Wal-Mart here attracts every hispanic, misfit, and hick within a 25 mile radius. After walking I immediately felt a panic set over me and a general,"What the crap am I doing here?!" set in. I then proceeded to move as quickly as possible and get the hell out of there so as to not get hepatitis or some other flesh eating disease that festers in that place. Luckily I only had two items on my list. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart is the only place around here that sells either one and its still a bit of a distance away. The first item is my Myoplex drinks for Body-for-life that are an absolute must.




The second item on my list is something very special to me that I have not had in a long while. One word, two syllables. Simly...YooHoo. Back in Utah, drinking a nice can of "Frosty Hoo" with Stone Bone and Cory Mon was a time honored tradition, a ritual if you will. You might be asking yourself, whats a Frosty Hoo? A Frost Hoo, my friends, is a Yoo-Hoo that has been put in the freezer and pulled out when it is halfway between frozen and thawed out. Its almost some what of a limbo between drink and slushy. Its really the Narnia of drinks. Its super hard to find, but when you find it, its the most glorious thing known to mankind, or animalkind. Im pretty sure that if you water your plants with Frosty Hoo, they will grow not only large, but beautiful as well. All of natures creatures and plants love Frosty Hoo. My point here is that as bad as Wal-Mart is, it is worth going there in order to obtain this lovely, chocolately drink. As tipped back my first Hoo in almost 4 months I thought of all my brothers back in Utah and all the good times had there. Cheers boys!

*Side note: I actually purchased the cans and not the boxes pictured. The cans hold more and the aluminum gets them colder. Its science.

As of late, I have been trying to enjoy my singleness, or solo-idity if you will. Those of you that view single life as a mere dream that is somewhat of a blur might be wondering what it is you exactly do when you are single. The main advantage of being single is time. Time to do so many things that I would seemingly not be able to do if I was not single. Seeing that my idea of fun isn't getting hammered on Jaeger and chasing after girls, I am forced to come up with more intelligent things to do.

The first great thing about being single and working a 9 to 5, is that right after you get home and finish eating the baseball game is on. I would say that at least 3 out of 5 weeknights are spent watching the Dodger game. Few things make me more happy than sitting down and watching a good ball game.

For those of you that know me at least mildly, know my love for music. So many of my married friends that used to love music as much or nearly as much as I do, either lose interest in music or just don't have time for it anymore. I don't think that will ever happen to me, but I do have to admit that once I am married I will not be able to devote as much time to music as I do now, unless in the event that I find someone like me who is obsessed with music and just happens to have similar taste. Not likely to happen. The past few months I have had the opportunity to see a few shows at the Knitting Factory in LA including Mike Park and Chuck Ragan. I also have a few good shows coming up in August and September. Point being here that I have the chance to pretty much entrench myself in music. Nothing excites me more than finding a new band that absolutely rocks me.

Yes single life does have its disadvantages like the Singles Ward, or anything having to with single mormon activities like dances. Nothing makes me lose hope more than a 4-Square tournament for FHE. But then you also have brief flashes of excellence such as watching your married friends go see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 while you watch UFC with the boys. Haha.

This is definitely not a knock on being in a relationship or married life because I would welcome both with open arms if the girl was right. Rather its a celebration of what my current situation has to offer. What excites me even more is when I move out from the parents house. Watch out!

For all you of out there that ask me if I am dating, this post is for you. No, I don't actually have a new girlfriend named Maylene. Maylene is the name I gave to the guitar my mom/dad (depends on who you ask) so graciously gave to me. I hope either one doesn't mind me taking the liberty of naming her. She is a beautiful Gibson with a lot of personality, as you can tell from the pictures. I've had her for while but have been busy with either school, work, both, or other things. I have finally found the time and desire to get to know her. My friend Greg plays guitar and so the other day I went over and had him show me a few things. Funny thing is that while in Utah I had two roommates, and one friend that was over all the time, that played. But like I said I was very busy then. So my passion has been re-ignited and I have been playing the past few days in my free time. I still totally suck, which is expected for the next long while, but Im actually having fun just playing around. And since I currently don't have a girlfriend I plan on spending some time getting to know Maylene. BTW, you might be saying to yourself, where did the name Maylene come from? Well, I was recently introduced to a band called Maylene and the Sons of Disaster who totally rock my socks. And then once they rock my socks off, they finish the job by melting my face with fine southern guitar riffs mixed with some great modern licks. Think of a 2008 version of Lynard Skynard. A little bit harder and rougher, with some double kick bass drum here and there. I have really been impressed with them. Anywho, I thought the name Maylene was cool so thus I have named my guitar after it. Apparently Maylene the real girl was a bank robber in Alabama back in the day and robbed banks with her sons. Back to me. The song I have been "playing" is a song called "Knowledge" by ska/punk greats Operation Ivy. Its your basic 3-chord punk song, so a good one for me to learn.

In other news, I am going to join a softball league that starts in September with my friend Bill and some of his friends from work. I'm pretty excited about it. Its all guys team which I both like and don't like. I like it because it will obviously be more competitive, but I don't like it because I'm obviously not playing around girls, even furthering my singleness. It should be a lot of fun. I haven't played anything close to baseball/softball since before high school with the exception of one or two church games. So its time to hit the cages and start tossing the ball around.

Oh man, what to write about. Here I sit again with the dilemma of what to blog about. My first thought is to complain about the absolute ridiculousness that was my sacrament meeting today. However, in an effort to not bombard you all with babble about how politics do not belong in a sacrament talk, let alone the main focus of the talk, I will talk about something else.

I decided to hop on the Body-For-Life train again. I was really happy with the results I got the first time, but ultimately not satisfied with how I look. Soooooooo, last week I went shopping and bought all the appropriate foods and nutrients that are forwith necessary for such a venture. Don't ask me why I said forwith, I don't even think that is a real word. I had an excellent week as far as diet goes, which is the most important part but only managed to make it to the gym a few times. This week it shall be my goal to get there every day from Monday through Saturday. Yeah, thats about it. The end.

PS Yes I know my life is lame.

So its been a while since my last post. I know I keep telling everyone that I am going to post more often now, but I think I have just come to the conclusion that that is just not going to happen. Life is crazy busy. I'll get an idea of something to blog about but by the time I can get around to typing it up, it is old news. That being said, you will updates and blogs of plenty, but its not going to be every week. I'll try for once a week but I am more thinking it will be about 3 a month or so. We'll see. If you don't like sports or baseball skip the next paragraph.

My first item of business is the MLB All-Star game. I now am referring to it as the "All-Star" game (picture me doing finger quotes while saying it). Some of the names that are brought into this game are absolutely ridiculous. To put home field advantage for the World Series on a game played by a glorified high school student body election is a joke. I think about half of the AL team was composed of Yankees and Red Sox. Wow, there are other teams America. Then there is Dan Uggla who I blame for the NL losing the game. I don't think he recorded a hit the whole game and he into ia double play just when the NL had a chance to take the lead. Also, don't forget about the back to back errors he made. What an overrated piece of crap player. How he made the team is beyond me. There is an obvious lack of quality players at that position in the NL. Chase Utley is amazing but everyone else is pretty average. To be honest though I would have rather have seen 40 Year old Jeff Kent play. I digress.

Next on the agenda is Anderson Bat Company. I think I have been at my job now for like 4 weeks? Something like that. I am enjoying it a lot so far. Everyone I work with is really cool and its a pretty relaxed atmosphere. For example, after going to bed at 3:30 Am from just seeing the Dark Knight at a midnight showing, I was too tired for a shower and decided to just throw on a hat and stroll into the office. Not a peep from anyone. Heck my boss comes in the office where gym shorts and a t-shirt. So I definitely like that aspect of where I work.

A few nights ago I went with my friend Greg down to L.A. to see Chuck Ragan play at the Knitting Factory. I love going down to L.A. Its a place I would never want to live, but I love being 45 min to an hour away. There is so much to do there. Anyways, I had never been to the Knitting Factory before, one of the few bigger name venues that I haven't, so it was really fun to finally go. Chuck Ragan, who you are currently hearing in the background of this lovely blog, plays folky acoustic type stuff. He also fronts a band called Hot Water Music who absolutely love. I had never seen Chuck live by himself, but I have seen Hot Water Music before back in high school. Before he went on I had an opportunity to meet him and his wife at his merch booth and talk with him for a few minutes. Him and his wife were really nice and seemed genuinely happy that I had taken the time to be a fan of the music and come to the show. Chuck put on an awesome show. He had a few guys from the band that played before him join him on stage for 5 or 6 songs which was fun. All in all it was a fun show.

Today was the 4th of July, one of my favorite holidays. BBQ, warm weather, and explosives. What's not to like? Bill was throwing an enormous party out at his place on the peninsula in Newport Beach. Unfortunately I didn't decide to go until this morning, so by the time I made it out there at about 11:30, it was already pure craziness. I literally think that half of Riverside decided to show up in Newport for the occasion. Traffic was insane and I had to park around 5 to 7 miles away from Bill's place. Luckily, I had my longboard (its a long skateboard, not a surfboard fyi) with me. 45 minutes, a 1 dollar ferry ride, and a few "almost" blisters later I arrived, covered in sweat. Bill was nice enough to let me shower up at his place.

The day was a blast, filled with music, mingling, ping pong, and carne asada grilled on the BBQ. We also took a dip in the ocean, which was the coldest thing ever. Its so nice to be home and have the opportunity to go the beach. That is definitely one thing I missed in Utah.

I think the highlight of the day may have been when Bill's neighbor Joey cut his foot wide open on the spokes of a bike when he tripped on it, spilling blood everywhere. Guess who got to drive him to Hoag Hospital? You guessed it, the only sober guy in the place. I being the generous person that I am, took Bill's car and drove him and a friend to Hoag to the ER. He ended up getting 10 stitches and got back into time to "party" more. Some people never cease to amaze me in their utter stupidity and negligence of their own safety.

Once it started to get dark we got hungry again and decided to take a bike ride down the boardwalk and got pizza at Rubino's. It was a bit pricey but good nonetheless. Bill lives on the top floor condo and has a big balcony which was prime area for watching a few different firework shows. While watching the different shows Newport had to offer our conversation turned the point of the entire day. An excuse for a BBQ? An excuse for a party? An excuse to drink? While plenty of this goes on the 4th, its a chance for everyone to celebrate the fact that we live in such a great country. We all felt a bit cheesy talking about it, it was nice to actually take a few minutes and reflect upon why we have the holiday in the first place. The reason I love the 4th is because no matter how much you dislike, or like, the current administration, everyone can come together and talk about what a great country we live in. I think that has become kind of faux pas to talk about our country in a positive way. Everyone likes to complain about whats wrong with it and the current administration. Its nice to have a day like the 4th where we can come together as country regardless of our race, religion, political affiliation or whatever and just say,"Its great to live here and be American," and somewhat give thanks for the sacrifices made by others in the past and present. Im done.

By the way, did I mention the Dodgers also rallied to come back and beat the rival Giants today? Truly a good day.

After two months of being home and working at Crapparoni Grill (thats such a rad nickname, how did I not come up with it sooner?) I have finally found a job!!! Im seriously so excited! Every sentence won't end with an exclamation mark I promise. I've been working with a company called Accountemps that does placement for accountants permanent and temporary. The 3 people that I have been working with there really liked me and what I had to offer. They were very optimistic that they could find something good for me.

Last Thursday I worked the day shift at the Mac Shack and it was one of the top 3 worst shifts ever. I wanted to quit on the spot right there. I had a voicemail from Accountemps waiting for me when I got off. They said they had something for me that started the next day. I called them back and said that yes I was interested. My saving grace! Finally after the worst day, I would be able to quit. They said they would call back to confirm in about an hour or two. I was so excited. I called some friends and family informing them of the news and how excited I was. One of the really cool parts was the company itself which is called Anderson Bats and they make softball bats. Softball/baseball, very similar. So that excited me too. Also, its like two miles down the street from my house. Does it get any better?

The call came an hour or two later informing me that I had in fact, not gotten the job. I am Jack's broken heart. Are you kidding me? I felt like I was destined for it. I was so ready to start in a real job. Not to mention the fact that I didn't want go back to the Crapparoni Grill ( I love it!) on Friday night. I was seriously so depressed the rest of the day. But, I put my apron back on and went back to serving tables for the time being.

Flash forward to this morning. I get a call from Accountemps again, informing me that Anderson Bats wanted to interview me. YESSSSS!!! I think may have jumped in the air like the people on the Toyota commercials of my childhood. You know what I'm talking about. "I love what you do for me, TOYOTA!!!" And they freeze frame on the people jumping in the air with their legs kicked out. Haha, anyways, so I got dressed and headed down for the interview. I really think that I should have more confidence in myself because I swear I nail every interview I have. First impressions are my forte' apparently. Needless to say, I will be starting tomorrow doing various A/P and A/R work but eventually will be charge of all the A/R. I forgot to mention one of the sweetest parts about the job. Its for the most part a casual dress. So, I don't have to wear a tie and can wear jeans and even t-shirts. How sweet is that? Im excited to finally be in something where I can show my skills. Wish me luck!

This last saturday I went paintballing with Jeff and his brother-in-law Michael. We drove all the way out to Camp Pendelton which I am pretty sure is in San Diego County. A big group of people from Jeff's office put the trip together so we had a whole course to ourselves. Paintballing is seriously so much fun. The ball hurts enough to make it fun when you shoot other people, but not enough to not want to play myself. I have like 10 welts all over my body. I was going to take a picture of one of them because it is way narly but decided that nobody wants to see that. By the way, i'm not trying to look hardcore in this picture, I think the sun was in my eyes.

Also known as complete douche bag face. For some reason whenever a picture is a taken of me my face turns into this horrible presentation that you are now witnessing. Its like my face has this natural inclination to make me like the biggest idiot ever. It reminds me a face some football player in high school would make. I really wish it didn't this but its almost part of my DNA I think. Im pretty sure it started out as a funny thing but it has since become a ridiculous display of photographic douchery (is that a word?). I digress. Anyways, the other guy in the picture, who also looks quite bad, is Bret from Flight of the Conchords. For those of you who don't know who Flight of the Conchords are (aka FOTC, for you Hud), they are two guys from New Zealand who have a TV show on HBO about their band and life in New York City. Its seriously one of the funniest shows on TV; up there with The Office. Last night (Tuesday night) I went with my friend Hud down to Hollywood to an after party for a band called Chromeo. They had played on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier. Hud is a producer for the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba and often goes to cool little shindigs like this to meet people, bands, and the like to come and guest star on the show. So we rolled down to the Roosevelt (i think) Hotel and Bret was there. He was a way cool guy and cool with me taking a picture with him. I was reminded of the part in Iron Man where the soldier asks Robert Downey Jr.'s character "Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" To which RDJ responds, "Yes, its very cool,". Classic. Anyways, the after party was way fun. Did I mention we got VIP treatment at the line? Hud is a sweet person to go places with because he always knows someone that can get you in backstage, ahead of the line, free, or any combination of the three.

If any of you are like me, you check your own blog (if you have one) and every other person's blog you know on a daily basis. I aggravates me to no end when people don't let me into their world by blogging. To this I apologize because its been awhile since I have blogged and I have not done it as much lately. I promise to keep it up more from now on. I won't, however, promise pictures with every blog. Its too hard to it often with pictures, but i'll try to do as much pictures as possible.

In other news, my sister is coming to town this weekend for like 10 days I think and I am way excited to see her and my niece Mia. Unfortunately my brother in law Zach won't be coming, which is a bust. I am so excited to see little Mia. She is getting not so little these days and its going to be so much fun to play with her. I'll for sure post some pictures.

Im currently listening to Thrice's Alchemy Index, all 4 parts, on shuffle and am reminded again of its greatness. I know I blab a lot about them, but they are seriously so rad. I highly recommend them to everyone. In fact, Im going to throw a song off the alchemy index on here for you all to listen too. If you want more go buy it on itunes or I guess I can burn it for you if you don't want to fork over the money.

PS I'm making a vow to work on not making the "pimp" face during pictures.

Happy Birthday to me! So today was my 25th birthday and I had a blast. I drove out Alicia Viejo to have lunch with my mom at a hip little place called the Mustard Cafe. Short tangent, how bad is it that I had to google how to spell Alicia Viejo and I grew up here in Orange County? Anyways, the Mustard Cafe was scrumdiddlyumptious. They had some fruit salad that was very tasty. I can't remember what the sandwich I had was called but it was pretty bomb. It was nice to have lunch all by myself with the Momster. Before I moved to Utah we would have little outings such as this every so often and I always enjoyed them. So it was nice to have another one. I know that is total momma's boy but give me a break, I am the baby of the family and the only not married yet. I can't help it.

Tonight I got together with a group of friends for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. SO GOOD! Seriously, those who have not been, make a point to go there. Its so much better than the crappy Italian restaurant that I work at that will remain nameless. I had some kind of Cajun jambalaya pasta that was good. I also finished it off with some banana cream cheese cake. HMMMMM!!! I believe the picture above is me mid-bite of the cheesecake.

The best part of the night was honestly just being with friends. Another side note, can you tell which person out of the three above has lived in Utah for 3 years? How freakin white am I? Anywho, like I was saying, it was so much fun to be out with friends. Above its me with Jeff to my left (haha, Jeff you appreciate that phrase) and Bill on my right.

One thing I have appreciated since being home, is being able to spend time with my California friends. Its nice to know that I don't have to cram in as much time with them as I can like I did when I came home from school.

Here is the whole gang. From left to right its Nicole, Jeff, Me, Bill, Trevor, Amy, and Heather.

Another shot of everybody. After dinner we decided to go see a movie at the Block so we drove over there. Once we got there everyone decided that they would rather have frozen yogurt instead. So in an attempt to take advantage of these low gas prices that we are experiencing right now, we drove to Yogurt Land in Fullerton. Luckily I was riding with Bill and didn't have to drive. Thanks Bill! Haha. Frozen yogurt was rad. For some reason I have been craving it like mad since I have been home. All in all it was an awesome night. It was great to get some friends over in a celebration of me. haha. Really though, is there a better day out of the year than your birthday? I would venture to say no. I love it. I told everyone I talked to today that it was my birthday. Tomorrow is a sad day because there is 365 more days until my birthday. Thanks again for everyone that came tonight!

I seem to be having a hard time blogging since moving home. I don't know if that is because my life was so exciting in Utah and there was a ton to write about, or if it was because there was nothing to do there and I had a lot of time to write about nothing. Im not sure which one it is but whatever the reason I have not been blogging near as much. So sorry to those of you who actually read this.

Since moving home I have obviously been looking for a job. The search continues. I think I have a few leads that will help me find something soon. For now I'm stuck at Macaroni Grill. It is truly embarrassing telling people I work there even though I have a degree. That plus hate working there. Every night I work there I get more and more motivated to find a real job. I hate it there.

I have now finished season 3 of Lost. It is so amazingly awesome. I highly recommend all of yo u to start watching this show from the beginning if you haven't already. Its so addicting. Im glad that there are only 2 more seasons after season 4 because I don't think I could the anticipation anymore seasons.

This last week was pretty awesome for me. Back in February I bought tickets for Thrice in California because I knew I would be here. They played two shows in Anaheim at the House of Blues and 2 shows in Hollywood at The Avalon, formally known as The Palace. Since tickets were only $15, I bought a ticket to both Anaheim shows and one of the Hollywood shows. Can you say obsessed? I know, but it was worth it. The first two shows were really different from each other and the last one was similar to the first show but still a little different. Over the three nights I got to see a number of different songs. If an opportunity comes up again to do Thrice 3 nights in a row I probably won't do it, but I think I would 2 nights in a row. Anyways, I wish I had pictures but House of Blues didn't allow cameras and I forgot my camera when we went to Hollywood.

I have now been in California for month. I'm settling in fine and am finally getting used to being here. I miss Utah and all my friends out there, but I'm glad I came home. It was definitely the right decision.

Lastly, it is my birthday on Tuesday! 25, wow! I can't believe I'll be 25. Its crazy. Its the last good birthday, kind of depressing. I've always viewed 25 as the ideal age. Old enough to get respect as an adult, but still young. Everything from here on out is downhill. Who gets excited about turning 30 or 40? Im sure the "experienced" people reading this blog will scoff at my complaints of getting old. But I'm sure you all thought the same when you were 25.

My mother is now a bona fide blogger. She just recently made her blog viewable to anyone so you all should check it out. Its under my links sections as "Still Crazy After All These Years". She has a great knack for blogging already and I am sure you all get a kick out of her thoughts, as she has of yours (Well at least those of you linked to my blog, she reads all of them, haha).

I am currently highly stressed about finding job in accounting. For those of you who know anyone that can help me out let me know.

Also, I just downloaded all of season 2 and 3 of Lost. I am catching up and boy am I loving it.

In an effort to move forward with my life after Utah, I decided to change the background and layout of my blog. I know, what an important thing in my transition. This generation is doomed because people now spend time transitioning by changing their blogs and myspace accounts instead of spending time changing their lives. Haha. I laugh but I am so a victim of it too. Anyways, so I opted to not put music on this time. If there is an overwhelming reaction to it not being on there, which I doubt there will be, then I will put it back on.

There may be a few more tweaks here and there in the next few days but for the most part this is it. I hope it behooveth everyone.

This post is titled updates not because I wanted to up date you all so much on whats been going on in my life, but because I am so tired of updating everyone on whats going on in my life. Well that sounds sort of bad. For the most part everyone that reads this is pretty in the know on my life and refrains from asking me the questions that I absolutely hate. Thus ensuring me that creating this blog was a good thing because I have to answer said questions less often than I did before the blog. What kind of questions am I talking about, you ask? The mindless banter that really doesn't matter. Here is a quick run down of the annoying conversations that I am talking about. I will title the person asking the annoying questions as Joe.

Joe: So you just graduated huh?
Scott: Yeah, I did. Its seriously so nice to be done with school.
Joe: Do you have a job lined up?
Scott: No. Actually I just transferred to the Macaroni Grill down here while I take the CPA exam, but I am looking for a job too.
Joe: Did you meet with any recruiters at your school?
Scott: No. No recruiters came to my school because our accounting program was small, blah blah blah.
Joe: Oh, that sucks.
Scott: Yeah.

Thats pretty much brunt of it. I can not even count how many times I have had that same stupid conversation since I have moved home. I get it, people are just trying to be nice and cordial. Im sure the fault lies with me, but I'm sorry it just annoys the crap out of me. Its the cross I bare apparently. Also included in these annoying little update conversations are topics/questions such as: "Are you dating anyone?", "How was work?", "How is the Macaroni Grill?", and other questions like that. Undoubtedly one of you reading this has at some point asked me one of the questions, some probably pretty recently. Please don't take offense. I understand people are just trying to be polite and have a conversation. It is just highly aggravating to hear them and discuss them over and over again. When anyone reading this feels the need to ask any of these questions just refer to the answers below.

Are you dating anyone? - No. Trust me, I'll let you know when I am.

How was work? - Work sucked. It always sucks. Who likes work? (Granted I have asked this once or twice but from here on out I vow to not ask it)

How is the Macaroni Grill? I hate it. I hate serving tables. I am currently looking for a full-time job in accounting. Do you know anyone that can help me?

Once again, this is just me venting. Please no one take offense because its the conversation that is annoying to me, not the person who i am having the conversation with. We've all had conversations like this I am sure of it. The end.

It's baseball season! And guess what? I'm back in California. How very exciting for me! So this past week I went to my first Angel game of the year. Hopefully there will be many more to come as well as many Dodger games. While I do love the Angels and Angel Stadium, mostly due to its closeness, nothing beats Dodger Stadium. The bummer about Dodger Stadium is driving the hour, if there is no traffic, to get to it. Not to mention the ghetto that it lies in. Im sure many memories will be made at both Dodger and Angel Stadium. Amy and Heather accompanied me to the game and we all had a blast. Nothing beats $16 tickets. The seats are really good too for what you pay. Anyways, it was good times had by all. The end.

This song is by Dropkick Murphy's and its called "I'm Shipping Up to Boston". Enjoy.

My last day in Utah was definitely a fun one. It started off a little scatter-brained but ended up being a good send off. I had been wanting to a have a BBQ but had really failed to plan much and that includes an exact time and an invite list. So I knew I wanted to have a BBQ, but I wasn't sure when to have it and who I wanted there. After much procrastination I, with the help of my friend Mitch, came up with a loose invite list and food assignments. I thought I had let everyone know when it was but apparently I forgot to tell my Dad because he thought it was at 5 or 6. He ended up being around 2 and 1/2 hours late. It also ended up being a little smaller than I had planned because I also neglected to call really anyone other than my roommates and good friends. In the end it was a good thing because it was nice to not have to cater to a bunch of people and all my really good friends were. Old Man Bones was able to take a lunch break from work and make an appearance. Cory Mon and Ellsworth also showed up after their band practice which was cool. Most of the fam that was there for my graduation came, with the exception of Margie and Nana who were taking a rest from the busy day earlier. Other notable guests were Bill (who flew in the night before to drive home with me), Dan the Man (who chatted baseball with Bill and I the entire time), and Erin (who brought her charm and dashing good looks to the party). Donnie aka Tammy, my roommate, was also there to add some much needed flavor, although there was no mustache this time. Donnie is now holding down the fort at the Huntington Manor with Stone Bone in my stead. Good luck to you Good Sir.


Here is Lord Huntington aka Justin hard at work on the grill. The burgers were delicious. Thanks again Justin.

Donnie and Erin.

I don't know why but I love this picture. I think because it is classic Jeff. Miss ya man.

Petey rockin' it in Utah style.

That night Cory had a show at Velour that he promoted as a going a party for me which was pretty sweet. I invited a bunch of people but pretty much only the people that I expected to come were the ones that showed up. That was nice so I didn't have to spread myself to thin. I was able to hang out with all my best friends on my last night. I think about probably 10 or 15 of my best friends were there. Cory asked me if I wanted to sing a song with him before hand and I thought it would be fun so I did. I actually was really really nervous but it was seriously some of the best fun I have ever had. Thanks again Cory for making it a special night for me. I thought this picture above was a good one with Cory and I.

I also really liked this one because I look about as happy as I felt. Haha. My 15 minutes of semi-fame. When Cory is one day rich and famous from his successful music career I can brag that I once sang a duet with him on stage. It should also be noted that the song we sang was named after me...Snubbs. Good times.

Enjoy Come All You Weary by Thrice.

As most of you know, I finally graduated college. WOOHOO! It was a very exciting, fun filled weekend. There were a lot of pictures and somewhat a lot to say so I decided to break it up into two posts. This first one will cover graduation day and in a couple days I will post another that will cover my last day in Utah.



Wow, what a day! It was a little hectic, as I am sure it is for everyone that goes through it. After going to bed at 3:30 AM the night before, I have to wake up at 6:00 AM to be ready in time to get to the school at 7 to check in. Needless to say, I was completely tired most of the day, but the excitement kept me chipper. Pretty much my entire immediate family came. My dad and stepmom, mom and stepdad, grandma and grandpa, great-grandmother, and great-aunt all came to Utah to celebrate and watch me graduate. I thought it was pretty cool and really appreciated everyone making the trip out. Here is a picture of my dad and I at around 7:15 AM before the ceremony.

Here is me, my mom, and my dad after graduation. How excited am I at this moment? haha.


Me with (left to right): Margie, Nana, Grandma, Grandpa.


Me and Nana. She is 96 and she made it all the way from California. What a trooper! I love her and I am so glad she was healthy enough to make it.


The night of graduation we all went out to eat at Macaroni Grill. I worked there so it was easy to get the reservation. Laura is a good friend of mine and she ended up being our server which was fun. I think this is her token Japanese pose. She is only missing her camera and hawaiian shirt.


Here I am, happy as a clam at dinner.

All in all it was a great day, but very tiring. I am glad I ended up walking rather that just coming home after finals. I'll be back in a few days with more pictures and stuff. Enjoy for now.

Enjoy this song by my good friend Cory Mon called Touch of Grace.

One of the very quotable lines from the worst movie I have ever seen. Another great FF (fun fact) about this movie is that my good friend and roommate Jeff Stone is the star. Thats right Ladies and Gents. Jeff Stone did star in a D grade movie in the late nineties with the guy from Michael Clayton (a recent oscar nominee, the movie not the actor) and the girl that plays the chiefs wife in Dances with Wolves. Two bona-fide actors in one horrible movie. I still don't know what the plot line was. The significance of this event is that I have been bugging Old Man Bones to let me watch it pretty much since I moved in. He denied me over and over again, too embarrassed to let me watch it. I even threatened to buy the movie online and watch but it really didn't budge him. After giving up, finally, to my dismay, he offered to show it to me as a going away present. In hindsight I don't know if it was actually a present or punishment. Haha. Truly the worst movie I have ever seen. Which is actually weird to think about. I would rather be in a movie that takes the cake for the worst movie ever than a movie that people watch and go, "Eh, it was ok,". Because it was so bad, we all got some laughs out of it. I have to publicly thank Stone Bone for letting me watch it. I am now in a rare, distinguished group of people who have seen "In Jest" and to that I am thankful. A friend couldn't ask for a better going away present. So thank you again Jeff. To end this post I would like to quote another great line from this movie. "You think your ass is ice cream and everybody wants a lick. You're wrong." Pure genius.

Yesterday Donnie, Erin, and I took an adventure and went to the beaches of Scotland. At least that is what the pictures looked like. It was actually Utah Lake but we decided that it looked a lot more like Scotland, largely due to the weather. The it looks like its really cold, but it was actually fairly warm, but pretty windy.

Ok, this is a video that we took on the way of this awesome kid riding a unicycle. We thought that is was by far the best thing ever. It really made the day. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.

This song is by Portishead and its called Mysterons. They fantabulous and I like them. Enjoy.

It's been a little while, about a week, since I have last wrote. In that time the new Thrice album, The Alchemy Index Volumes 3 & 4, has leaked on the internet for my downloading pleasure. I'm actually pretty impressed that it took so long to leak seeing that it comes out in stores this Tuesday the 15th. Needless to say this album is amazing to me. I have no doubt explained this project to most of you reading this blog but for the rest you it is basically a 4-disc undertaking with each disc having 6 songs that are themed lyrically and sonically to the four classic elements (fire, water, air, earth). To loosely describe them, fire is heavier, water is electronic sounding with a lot of keyboards and drum machines but very soothing and chill, earth is rootsy, gospel and blues sounding with lots of acoustic guitar, banjo, percussion, and piano, and air is very hard to explain but to make it easy I will describe it as soft rock.

So the earth and air portions come out this Tuesday and is what I have been listening to all week. Since Fire and Water came out last October I have fully digested them and can now somewhat appreciate the entire album with all 4 discs as a whole. I would really suggest this album (Vol. 3 and 4) to anyone. They are so good and accessible that I think anyone from my mom and dad to friends would like them. The cd comes out this Tuesday once again so I exhort you all to check it out.

I am starting to actually believe summer is close due to a couple of reasons. Reason #1: I went longboarding down Provo Canyon with my good friend/roommate/gracious and understanding landlord Justin today for the first time in 2008. WOOHOO! So much fun! It was like 70 degrees or so today. So pretty and nice outside. I'll tell you what, there is nothing like driving with your windows down. Those of you in California or Puerto Rico may not appreciate this as much, but for me here in Utah the last 5 months have been hell for me with this winter being the coldest winter in Utah in years (thats actually a fact not just me being a pansy). Reason #2: I am starting to prepare to move back to California. Not really a sign of the times but you all get my excitement I'm sure. I look forward to many bon fires and days at the beach this summer.

I was informed this week that I probably have a lot more readers than I thought I did. My sister Katie informed me that my Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Margie, and my lovely Nana might be reading, not to mention countless other that stumble upon my page and are enthralled with the shenanigans and ridiculousness that I call my life. To these and others I say Hello and Welcome. Just to worn a few of you I partly created this blog to act as a journal and a way to get some things off of my chest. I try to keep it PG for the most part and create a way for everyone to enjoy a window into my life and more importantly my thoughts. That being said, every once in a while I may tend to get a tad bit racy and edgy. It is not my objective to offend anyone, although I am sure I do it on a daily basis. Its more of a way to get my thoughts out and sometimes, yes, those thoughts are negative and somewhat offensive. So.....sorry....but it will happen here and there. Please don't judge me. Haha.

The song playing right now is off of the new Thrice cd and is called "A Song For Milly Michaelson". Its off of the air disc. Enjoy it as much as I do.