Far From Refuge

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.